Lucas Must Learn that Mediocrity Isn’t Good Enough

Not one to dwell too much on what the reaction might be, Rafael Benitez has never shirked away from making controversial choices because people might not agree with them. Few of his decisions, however, will match the levels of surprise hit the last time Liverpool travelled to Goodison Park.

With the game stuck at 1-1 and Liverpool struggling to build play, Benitez came up with a strange solution: take off Steven Gerrard and replace him with Lucas Leiva.