Liverpool went into this game looking for a victory but would have probably settled for a draw. Instead they got beaten by a side that didn’t look anything special. Those hoping that the derby victory might have re-ignited the players after the recent lethargic performances were left disappointed with a game of too many stray passes and very little incisiveness.

The only positive thing to come out of this game were the Besiktas fans. A warning had been issued advising Liverpool fans against making the trip to Turkey but those who went will certainly have appreciated the ninety minutes of constant support and organized chaos. There was the occasional thrown item on the pitch but on the whole it was extremely entertaining.

Good Game
As in the weekend, Pepe Reina was extremely unlucky to have conceded an own goal against which he could do little and again he didn’t stand a chance in the second goal. In between he had very little to do yet was always quick off his line to snuff out any breaks.

Same goes for Jamie Carragher. His tackle just before the first goal was an amazing recovery on a player who looked set to break free – he had a similar tackle later on in the second half – but he was unlucky that the ball ricocheted back to a Besiktas player. Couldn’t have done more.

Perhaps because of the weekend’s substitution but Steven Gerrard tried hard to get Liverpool back into the game. He scored the only goal and was the driving force behind most chances, making him my player of the game.

Bad Game
With the passing of every game, Sami Hyppia is increasingly looking like a liability and Daniel Agger can’t get back soon enough. His lack of pace is being found out and Jamie Carragher is having to work overtime to cover up.

Steve Finnan is another who hasn’t been doing too well. He looks tired and unable to catch up with the pace of the game.

I wouldn’t say that the rest had a bad game yet John Arne Riise, Ryan Babel, Javier Mascherano, Jermaine Pennent, Dirk Kuyt and Andriy Voronin didn’t play particularly well either.

Substitutes
Yossi Benayoun immediately had a positive impact on the game as he constantly found himself in space and probably should have been brought on earlier. As with the derby game, Lucas was once again composed and had a positive effect on the game after coming on for Javier Mascherano. If he’d had that little bit more experience he would have probably started this game. You have to feel for Peter Crouch who was only given six minutes despite the fact that neither of the two forwards had played particularly well. His presence probably panicked the Besiktas defenders and it was off a ball directed at him that Gerrard scored.