For Liverpool, this match tore away their last fig leaf.
Even before the match, it was widely rumored that Benitez would be fired, even if the Red Army ultimately won the UEFA Europa League title.
But no one could have ever imagined that Liverpool would play so embarrassingly in the final.
The first half ended with Dortmund leading 2-0.
What was truly embarrassing for Liverpool was that they managed only a single shot in the entire first half.
It came in the 38th minute, a rushed long-range shot from Gerrard.
From that distance, it hardly posed a threat to Weidenfeller.
But at least it spared them the embarrassment of having no shots at all.
This left the two Liverpool executives who had traveled with the team, Chief Commercial Officer Ian El and Sporting Director Damian Comoli, feeling utterly helpless as they watched from the stands.
