Its October 2009 and Liverpool manager Rafa Bentitez is coming under increasing pressure as Liverpool's slide continues. What he nor anybody else bargained on though was any opposition getting a helping hand especially not in this way. Sunderland's Darren Bent fires in a shot which would have probably been saved by Pepe Reina - but who would have expected a balloon to be in the path of the ball and do enough to change the route of the ball and deflect it past Reina into the bottom corner of the net for the only and winning goal of the match.
Losing at home to Reading in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup and being eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League by Fiorentina and Lyon did not help Benitez either and by the end of the season finishing seventh in the Premier League was a step too far for the Liverpool board and Benitez found his contract terminated. Just five years earlier he had led the team to Champions League glory but sometimes its just amazing what a turn of events can conjure up and who would have predicted that a balloon would help to put one of the final nails into Benitez coffin at Anfield. Benitez had also failed and probably embarrassed the hierarchy at Anfield with some of his tirades against Alex Ferguson that in the end just made him look dumb and probably speeded up his exit.
Losing at home to Reading in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup and being eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League by Fiorentina and Lyon did not help Benitez either and by the end of the season finishing seventh in the Premier League was a step too far for the Liverpool board and Benitez found his contract terminated. Just five years earlier he had led the team to Champions League glory but sometimes its just amazing what a turn of events can conjure up and who would have predicted that a balloon would help to put one of the final nails into Benitez coffin at Anfield. Benitez had also failed and probably embarrassed the hierarchy at Anfield with some of his tirades against Alex Ferguson that in the end just made him look dumb and probably speeded up his exit.
By the way - (although I am not absolutely 100% sure) the beach ball goal should not have been allowed. I vaguely remembering hearing that the goal should have been inadmissible because an "infringing foreign object" (or words to that affect) by the laws of the game cannot be used during a match. If this had come out at the time, if I had the FA power to be fair I would probably order the match to be replayed.
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