 RAFA BENITEZ confided in the build-up to this fixture he was worried about the extra pounds he's been carrying since joining Liverpool. The only weight which need concern him today is that of over-expectation, and how to live up to it. His second visit to Old Trafford provoked a mass outbreak of egotism on Merseyside which for long periods of an ultimately deflating afternoon looked like proving justified. Unfortunately, Liverpool aren't the finished product yet. They've played far worse at this venue and won in recent times, but without the extra seal of class Benitez still requires to complete his revolution, the causes of this bitter defeat are easy to identify. You could rage all season about innocuous free-kicks, but the reason Liverpool failed their toughest challenge of the current campaign was attacking impotence. They dominated possession, and looked stronger in virtually all departments. Crucially, there was an exception. Fixtures where opportunities are rare rely on world class finishers to write headlines. Sadly for the Reds, there isn't one at the club. Rectifying this must be next on Rafa's 'must do list'. Djibril Cisse was so far out of his depth on this stage he was drowning for as long as he was on the pitch, while Fernando Morientes fared little better during his late cameo. "Small details are vital in these matches," observed Benitez later. On such seemingly trifling matters, weekends are ruined. The enduring image of the afternoon could have been Steven Gerrard's inch perfect defence splitting pass to Cisse midway through the first half - a copy of the one tucked away by Danny Murphy here three years ago. Or indeed Cisse's close range effort which, somehow, ended yards over the bar in the second half. | 
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