Liverpool could regret missing out on Europa League opportunity

Manchester United and Liverpool have won eight European Cups between them in their various formats. If you extend that to Cup Winners’ Cups and UEFA Cups, then it’s 12 trophies in total, with Liverpool’s period of dominance clearly outstripping United’s. Yet both sides seems adrift when it comes to the current competition, with domestic rivals such as Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City ahead of them as favourites for success, and European sides including Juventus, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid are clearly superior. Liverpool are facing a year out of any European competition, while United have the advantage of Champions League football.

In part, because of the lack of lustre that the Europa League holds for English sides generally, and the problems Liverpool had with the demands of European competition last season, there was a chance that Liverpool would have ignored the competition anyway. Squad players, perhaps even Mario Balotelli, would have been given the chance to impress or simply keep out the most important players from the first team, and give them chance to rest and avoid injury. The thinking would have been the Champions League is what Liverpool needs, and that any other competition is simply a distraction.

That would have been the wrong decision. They have, again, bought extensively and are already trying to fit several new players into the side, and have yet to develop a settled eleven. Inevitably, it will take time for a team that has now had two summer transfer windows of extensive turnover to find its way. The signs are better than last year, though, with Joe Gomez impressing despite his lack of experience, and James Milner more likely to find a step down easier than Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana found the step up from Southampton. Roberto Firmino, it can be expected, will not be worse than Balotelli or Rickie Lambert.

But there’s clearly some way to go. Against Stoke City last weekend and Bournemouth last night, they managed a 1-0 victory courtesy of the impressive Philippe Coutinho’s performances. Christian Benteke will appreciate an early goal in his Liverpool career, and he is a potentially excellent striker when few are available to any club, let alone one outside the Champions League. But Brendan Rodgers and his side failed last year, and the indications from the early part of this season is that there has been no significant immediate improvement. As a result, Liverpool cannot repeat the mistake made by Louis van Gaal last season. The League Cup, starting soon, is vital, as is the FA Cup. These extra games should be used to drill their players into mutual understanding, and match fitness that one game a week cannot provide. Liverpool have bought enough, if not definitely well enough, to cope with the demands. Although Rodgers will want to know his first 11, more important is to know that his first 15 is up to the task.

As poor as United have been, they have the advantage of more games on the horizon to use as a solution. In the past, Alex Ferguson used to use the League Cup as a confidence booster for a team out of the trophy habit, and also as a distraction, claiming its success meant something. Under David Moyes, the club simply wasn’t competent enough to find their way past Sunderland in the League Cup or find a successful run in the FA Cup. Van Gaal fared no better, going out against a mediocre Arsenal side, and in the early part of the season his side was humiliated 4-0 by MK Dons, fielding a side of calamity-filled and inspiration-drained deadwood. As a result, United had barely more than their league obligations to field, and took months to appear as if they knew where they should be standing.

Like Liverpool, United have again made extensive changes to the side. The goalkeeper will probably not be Sergio Romero in the long term, but nor will it be David de Gea. Matteo Darmian, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis will all expect to be regular first team players. Pedro, if Edward Woodward is able to do his job (not guaranteed), will be another new face, as might Jasper Cillessen.

Like Liverpool, United have played poorly but managed to shut out the opposition, and engineer a goal of their own despite creating little. The defence has been largely solid, with Daley Blind coping easily against the limited opposition he has faced. It could be assumed that a fit Marcos Rojo will take his place eventually, but it is impossible to assume that Van Gaal will take the sensible option given his track record of ignoring the obvious for as long as possible. In attack, United barely seem capable of opening their eyes, let alone the defence in front of them.

And that’s why the Champions League is most important to them this year. It provides a guaranteed eight games including the qualifying round, should they navigate it. In truth, they should expect to make it into the knock-out stages despite their shortcomings. These extra games, allied to the League Cup, give Van Gaal the chance to get his experimentation out of the way, possibly play Rooney into something like acceptable form, and give the side the chance to work out how to play together.

Of course, that’s the possibility, not the guarantee. Rodgers managed a scarcely believable title run without the Champions League, even if it was assisted by Luis Suarez’s exceptional contribution, and for Van Gaal, he appears happy enough with the dross he is currently serving up by virtue of it being just enough. It remains United’s advantage though, not Liverpool’s. They have the chance to make a serious advance as a team in a way that Liverpool may struggle to match, even if both sides will doubtless end the season without any addition to the joint total of European triumph.