Liverpool have lost their last two Champions League games in a row, and though in the history of the competition they have never lost three consecutive matches, their fans may well be worried that the absence of Steven Gerrard from their ranks through injury may mean this record comes to a crashing end at Lyon on Wednesday.
Liverpool’s 'captain fantastic' is undoubtedly a talismanic figure at Anfield, however there is reason enough to suggest that his absence from the starting eleven should not cause complete panic for the red half of Merseyside, as midfielder Yossi Benayoun could also prove to be the catalyst for a decent Liverpool performance.
Opta’s table below shows the performances of each player in the Premier League since the start of last season, and their contributions to Liverpool’s efforts on goal from open play:
| Yossi Benayoun | Liverpool in PL since 08/09 | Steven Gerrard |
| 43 | Appearances | 39 |
| 2.637 | Minutes Played | 3,326 |
| Goal Attempts | ||
| 11 | Goals excluding penalties | 13 |
| 240 | Mins per goal (exc. pens) | 238 |
| 53 | Total shots (exc.pens) | 119 |
| 26 | Total shots on target (exc. pens) | 50 |
| 49% | Shooting accuracy (exc.pens) | 42% |
| 21% | Goals-to-shots ratio (exc. pens) | 12% |
| Passing | ||
| 8 | Goal assists (open play) | 8 |
| 67 | Chances created (open play) | 69 |
| 39 | Mins per chance created (open play) | 48 |
Once the number of penalties that each player has scored are discounted (four for Gerrard, none for Benayoun), it becomes clear that both midfielders have offered a similar goalscoring threat over the last three seasons.
This is primarily down to Benayoun’s clinical shooting – of his 53 attempts on goal since August 2008, just over one in five has found the back of the net, compared to one in nine for Gerrard.
On top of this, Benayoun’s creativity from open play slightly surpasses that of Gerrard’s, with the Israeli creating a chance for his team-mates every 39 minutes, compared to just once every 48 minutes for his team captain.
Indeed, Benayoun has already set up three goals for Fernando Torres this season in the league, something that may prove key given the Spaniard’s inability to score thus far in the Champions League this season.
