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Things must improve if there isn't to be another five-year wait

“Well, it was worth the five-year wait at least,” remarked one sharp-witted gent on Twitter, in a flagrant case of gallows humour.

But there was a meaning behind it too.

The anthem before kick-off, the waving of the ball, the sight of Anfield bedecked in the Champions League blue – it was something the Reds had strived for over the past five years.

There is meant to be much reward when qualifying for Europe's top competition. More money and less hassle in making the bigger, better signings.

For the fans, however, it means so much more. It was the start of so many good evenings; the forming of so many fond memories. Roma, Olympiakos, Juventus, Chelsea, Real Madrid... the list, literally, goes on and on.

After five years out, however, there was a realisation that this competition has changed. The so-called lesser sides are capable of playing some really good football. Standards have needed to be raised.

Liverpool have found that out in the most painful circumstance.

This was meant to be the re-emergence of one of Europe's favourite sides. Instead, their play was dull, their approach laboured. There was to be no fireworks from this Liverpool side. It was the dampest of returns.

Liverpool waited five years to return to Europe's grandest stage and, for some reason, waited until the final 15 minutes of their campaign to play football. The tempo was there, so, too, the movement; it had been missing otherwise since the competition started in September. By now, it was too late.

Worryingly, if one game was to ignite the Liverpool of last season, it should have been this one. If one campaign was to ignite that very same Liverpool, it was this one, their first one in five years.

If they want to give it another go any time soon, the performances must improve above this level in the league – or another excruciating wait may lie ahead.

READ: James Pearce's verdict: Too little, too late for Liverpool

Liverpool didn't deserve to go through

Arguments over red cards that were given and penalties that were not are, ultimately, futile. Steven Gerrard said it, and Steven Gerrard was right: Liverpool did not deserve to qualify from the Champions League group stage.

Five points in six games. A goal difference of minus four. Just one win, at home to Ludogorets, which required a last-minute penalty in six games. This was comfortably the worst European campaign the Reds have endured since the Champions League's inception.

The task on Tuesday was simple. Beat Basel; beat a side who, while eight points clear of their domestic league, are very much a third-tier side on the European stage.

But it was the Swiss who made Liverpool look like the third-tier side in the first 45 minutes. Or, perhaps more accurately, Liverpool made themselves look like that as passes went astray, defenders retreated in horror and frustration built in the stands.

Their elimination was confirmed on Tuesday night with failure to beat Basel, but it had been a process which began in October. A turgid defeat in Switzerland; two defeats against Real Madrid; a solitary point in Bulgaria.

Tuesday was when the dream of number six died – but the first previous games ensured this was nothing more than a mercy killing.

Markovic's mixed night offers hope

What an impact Lazar Markovic made. In the space of 15 minutes, he had Anfield open-mouthed with delight...before those gaping holes turned into howls of derision for his red card.

There are two camps regarding the sending off and both are welcome to their opinion. One argument: it was a ridiculous decision, a complete overreaction from Behrang Safari and a nonsensical decision from referee Bjorn Kuipers. The other: Markovic shouldn't have thrashed out an arm to an opponent a fair distance away and asked to be dismissed.

Wherever the truth lies, it cannot be denied he was the worst player to be sent off at that point. He was fresh and, most importantly, flying. In the opening minute of the second half, he careered down the right, beating two men and putting in a cross. He moved with purpose and, crucially, with confidence. It was his best display in a red shirt.

In the 15 minutes he was on the pitch, he beat more men than any of his team-mates had managed in the first hour. In a turgid first half display, he was the spark the second half needed.

That was cut short with the red. But, if there is to be any positive to take from Tuesday's failure, it is how Markovic finally resembled something like a big-money signing.

Top end threatens to topple season

Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge: gone and never coming back or not coming back for a long while - delete as appropriate. The handwringing over the departed duo is tiresome.

But despite that, it is hard not to ask it one more time: how has it come to this for Liverpool?

Rickie Lambert was making his sixth consecutive start in 16 days. Mario Balotelli remained sidelined. Fabio Borini is not even deemed worthy of a place in the matchday squad.

And after a terrible opening 45 all around, changes were necessary. Lambert had touched the ball fewer times than Simon Mignolet, while his pass accuracy – 35.7% - was almost twice as bad as the Belgian goalkeeper's. The service was bad, but so was the striker.

Under normal circumstance, a like-for-like change is required. But with no striker on the bench, so it came to be – Liverpool, chasing two goals to save their campaign, ran out with no recognised strikers on the pitch. Imagine no Neil Mellor or Florent Sinama-Pongolle against Olympiakos 10 years ago.

On such things are matches won and lost; on such things are qualification and elimination determined.

Sterling did an admirable job, although only in the final 10 minutes did he get a chance to break through the defensive line as Basel retreated.

The 20-year-old needs to be central to everything Liverpool do right now, but this was in a position most unfamiliar to him. Tuesday's cameo up front, as it was at home to Real Madrid, was more out of necessity than design.

It was a stark reminder of how things have changed in the space of six months. Brendan Rodgers needs to find a way to change them back.

Fairytales don't always happen

Gerrard's equaliser set minds racing to all those other famous nights – there have been so many, that it has become a cliché – but it simply was not to be.

As Liverpool supporters have found out since May, the ending is not always to their liking.

Having been spoilt with unlikely victories and illogical successes down the years, the past six months have brought a harsh, biting reality back to football. At the height of hope has come the depths of despair.

If nothing else, it is a character-building exercise for Liverpool fans. The hope is that it does similar for the players.

This, however, was a blow. It also draws a line under last season's achievements. They have very much been and gone. It's time to look towards the future; it's time for Rodgers to begin building something that resembles that side, if not in style, then in results.

This was the last vestige of 2013/14. The new Liverpool must begin now – as do both the compliments and criticism it receives. The past, however recent, can no longer be clung onto.

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