With Javier Mascherano off to play a meaningless friendly with Egypt, Rafael Benitez has every right to be annoyed. It's only his much-maligned rotation policy which could save the club.
'Taking the Argentine off to play an entirely pointless game is akin to flying a top brain surgeon to the Falklands to treat a sheep for a grazed bottom.'
When Rafael Benitez responded to the news that Javier Mascherano is to be swept away to play for Argentina in a friendly against Egypt, it was with heavy sarcasm, claiming that he was “really, really happy” his midfield lynchpin would be carted off.
Taking the Argentine away from Merseyside a mere four days before the Everton game - and a week prior to Liverpool’s European match-up against Arsenal, to play an entirely pointless game is akin to flying a top brain surgeon to the Falklands to treat a sheep for a grazed bottom.
Rafa also bemoaned the futility of asking Argentina coach Alfio Basile not to give Mascherano an extended run-out. As he is central to Basile’s plans for the South American side, there is little chance of that. Benitez will be anxious to get Mascherano back as soon as possible as he is also at the epicentre of the Spaniard's 4-2-3-1 formation.
The same day that Mascherano is expected to play against Egypt, both Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard – the deadly twin forces that have propelled Liverpool’s strong second half of the season – will also be trotting around in meaningless friendlies for their respective nations, adding yet another complication in a proliferated few weeks for Benitez’s side.
The Anfield boss's cool fatalism about the amount of games his players will face is tempered by his much-maligned rotation policy, a tactic designed for these exact circumstances. Any Liverpool players participating in the international fixtures on Wednesday will face a grueling schedule of six games - and an awful lot of travelling - in 17 days, something for which rotation is the only real remedy.
With such a vital set of fixtures remaining, Rafa needs to do everything in his power to control all possible outside elements that may throw his finely-honed plans off kilter. The pressure of the Merseyside derby will be intense, and Liverpool will have to jump from the frying pan of Old Trafford to the fire of a derby with local rivals Everton. Sandwiched between this, probably in the worst place possible in the fixture list, are the international friendlies - a blemish on Rafa’s preparations and a distraction before playing three games against Arsenal.
If the Merseyside derby is the mother of all six-pointers, then the three back-to-back games with Arsenal are a spaghetti junction of possible permutations, with the shrapnel from those encounters spinning off and affecting everything from Everton’s charge for fourth place, to the eventual winners of the Champions League.
Something needs to be done about these ridiculous friendly fixtures. After all, is Basile really going to learn more about Mascherano loping around the pitch against Egypt or watching him play Arsenal in the pinnacle of European football?
Will losing Mascherano be a huge blow for Rafa's end-of-season plans? Let us know by commenting below, or submit your own piece to Sportingo.