This week marks 20 years since Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool fought back from two goals down to beat Fulham 4-2 at Craven Cottage. Aaron Cutler assesses the impact of that result on a memorable season.
Twenty years ago this week, a disjointed, ragged and fundamentally flawed Liverpool side rocked up to Craven Cottage to face mid-table Fulham.
Unbeknownst to them or us, the game would mark a turning point in an unforgettable season. Very much a footnote in Liverpool history, October 16, 2004, nevertheless marks the first significant comeback of a campaign and era defined by one.
New manager Rafa Benitez was 11 games into his reign and enduring a mixed start to life on Merseyside.
Home victories against Man City, West Brom and Norwich had kept the Reds on the coattails of those chasing Champions League qualification, but an away win had proven elusive. Elusive and bruising, with an agricultural Bolton providing their own ‘welcome to English football’.
Before the preceding international break, the Spaniard’s side had lost the first of what would become a series of titanic clashes against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
They returned to West London a fortnight later without captain Steven Gerrard or Harry Kewell, very much an early favourite of the manager.
Those absences weren’t enough to prevent some characteristically bizarre rotation, however.
Summer recruit Xabi Alonso had impressed in the opening weeks of the season but was inexplicably dropped to the bench, with Salif Diao, of all people, selected to start alongside Didi Hamann in central midfield.
It wouldn’t be the first time that year Benitez would get his lineup wrong, only to correct things in dramatic fashion after the break.
Before the interval though, Liverpool were a shambles. Fulham‘s Portuguese winger Luis Boa Morte ran the backline ragged, tapping home from close range in the 24th minute and burying a left-footed strike under Chris Kirkland soon after to double the Cottagers’ lead.
It could have been worse still, with a Mark Pembridge free-kick narrowly evading the post before the scoring had even begun.
It was the kind of display Alan Hansen would have described as ‘shocking’ and probably did on that night’s Match of The Day.
And it was enough to stun Benitez into action. Diao was predictably hooked at half-time, with Alonso introduced to add some much-needed control. And boy did he.
Second half heroics
Our route back into the game was a fortuitous one, Milan Baros’ speculative drive from 30 yards taking a big deflection off of Zat Knight to balloon over a helpless Edwin van der Sar. Coming just five minutes after the restart, it panicked Fulham.
With pressure building, they succumbed in the 71st minute. An Alonso cross was diverted goalwards by compatriot Luis Garcia. Van der Sar parried, only for Baros to ram home from close range.
Alonso, who had completely changed the game, then notched his first goal for the club courtesy of a stunning free-kick.
A slight deflection off the head of Papa Bouba Diop made little difference to the accuracy or inevitability of the strike, which left the ‘keeper stranded.
The redemption of Igor
Liverpool saved their best to last, with 90t- minute substitute Igor Biscan guiding a right-footed laser into the top corner with his very first touch. A quite brilliant goal, it signalled the beginning of a redemption arc for the Croatian.
Played out of position in the dying embers of the Houllier reign, he was by that stage much maligned and somewhat of a joke figure. Fulham away saw him restored to his natural role (albeit briefly) and contribute positively for what seemed like the first time in years.
A much-needed confidence boost, it set him up for understated yet titanic performances against the likes of Deportivo and Juventus on the road to Istanbul. Diao was suddenly reduced to a bit-part role (thank goodness), with Biscan emerging as the obvious alternative to the Alonso-Hamann axis.
That Fulham strike also went some way to inspiring the now iconic banner reading: Super Croat Igor Biscan Used To Be Atrocious.
A change in mentality
Biscan aside, this one result was symbolic for different reasons.
Firstly, it proved Liverpool could respond in the face of adversity. It was only the second time in five years they had gone on to win a game in which they trailed at half-time.
The first of those was on the opening day of this same season, at home to City. Coming on the road and two goals down, this one carried added significance.
The scoreline also showed points could be won without the talismanic Gerrard. Pundits and supporters alike often describe this incarnation of Liverpool as a one-man team, but Fulham away wasn’t an isolated incident.
The skipper was absent for the aforementioned and spirited draw in La Coruna, and so too the reverse fixture in which the Reds prevailed. Gerrard then sat out the first leg of the round of 16 tie against Bayer Leverkusen, which Liverpool won 3-1.
The captain was – by some distance – our best player but such results proved Benitez could get the most out of the collective, drilling them to within an inch of their lives.
Forget not, Alonso also missed both Leverkusen legs, the famous home win over Juve and the semi-final tussle with Chelsea…
Rewind 12 months and when Liverpool went into any fixture minus one of Gerrard or Michael Owen, defeat or at least disappointment felt inevitable. Benitez was gradually changing mindsets in both the squad and stands.
The Benitez factor
And his own Liverpool legacy took root at Craven Cottage.
That day we saw the best and worst of Rafa. It’s said there is no great genius without a touch of madness and this was certainly evident on a cloudy day in October 2004.
Quite why Alonso was left out is unknown. Similar questions were asked of his selection in Istanbul, which was equally bewildering/maddening. That day Hamman fell victim to a frankly suicidal gameplan.
In both instances, Liverpool paid a price, but Benitez was able to turn the tide and defy the odds.
That speaks to his mastery, but tactical shifts only go so far. Players need belief and muscle memory to fight back in near-impossible scenarios. Fulham gave them that.
It’s no exaggeration to say that without Craven Cottage there is no Istanbul.
Unlike the crescendo of that season, no books or films will be made about that afternoon in Fulham, but it may just have changed the course of history.
