L2 | S3 | W21: Liverpool hit rock bottom as the trapdoor swings open across all four divisions

📰 Week 21 in Review – Season 3

Ten games to go in the European Elites, and the story this week isn’t at the top of the tables – it’s at the bottom. Relegation battles are taking shape across all four divisions, and in some cases they’re getting ugly. Division 2’s basement is a grim place to be right now. Division 3’s most dominant home record of the season was finally broken. And in Division 4, two clubs are running out of time.

The League Cup quarter-finals were also settled this week – and one result stood out more than most. Walsall, a top-five Division 1 side, were hammered 1-4 at home by Portsmouth. Gordon Ottershaw’s side are through to the semis. More on that below.

🏆 Division 1 – The bottom bites back

Rapid Vienna lead Division 1 on 37 points but Paul Lamming’s side took a dent this week – FC Porto came to the Allianz Stadion and left with all three points, João Félix scoring twice in the second half with an 87th-minute winner to complete a 2-1 comeback. It was Porto’s fifth win in their last five home games, and a timely reminder that the title race is far from done. Atletico Madrid are second on 35 after drawing 1-1 with Bayer Leverkusen. Heart of Midlothian jump two places to third on 34 – Heskey scoring twice as Phil McCracken’s side beat Cambridge United 2-0 in front of nearly 80,000 at Tynecastle.

⚠️ Five clubs within five points at the top. Rapid Vienna’s lead looks comfortable on paper but they’ve just lost to a side in 10th. This title race has weeks left to run.

The more pressing story is at the bottom. Real Madrid are propping up Division 1 on 16 points – James Harman’s side have one win in the last six and drew 1-1 with Sporting Lisbon this week. Three consecutive losses had already stretched to four before this one; a draw is an improvement of sorts, but with nine games left and 15th-placed Bayer Leverkusen just a point above on 17, the Santiago Bernabéu is a tense place to be. Ady Lippiatt’s Leverkusen have managed only two away wins all season and drew again at Atletico. Carl Pavitt’s Rangers are 14th on 20 points, and goalless at home to Marseille this week – they haven’t won in five. The bottom three in one of the game’s most watched divisions could still shift dramatically.

⚠️ Real Madrid: bottom of Division 1, 16 points from 21 games. James Harman’s side were not supposed to be here.

💙 Division 2 – Liverpool and the away-goal drought

Birmingham City’s title is all but confirmed – Leigh Bailey’s side sit on 44 points, eight clear of Paris Saint-Germain in second. Portsmouth gave them a bloody nose this week, winning 4-1 at Fratton Park with Whittingham scoring twice, but that barely dents Birmingham’s position. The real Division 2 story is at the other end, where the drop zone looks increasingly desperate.

⚠️ Liverpool: 13 points from 21 games. Five consecutive away matches without scoring a single goal. Zero away wins. Zero away draws in the last five on the road.

gilbert burnett’s Liverpool beat Fulham 1-0 at home this week – Núñez with the seventh-minute goal – which gives the scoreline a flattering look. The reality is that Liverpool’s away form is catastrophic. Five games on the road without a goal. Five. David Hopkins’ Manchester United drew at home with Juventus, 1-1, and sit one point above Liverpool on 14. Their away record reads zero wins, nine defeats. Salisbury and Bayern Munich are both on 19 – neither side winning this week – meaning there is a six-point gap between 13th and the bottom two, but a cluster of clubs all capable of dragging each other deeper into trouble. Nine games left. Someone is going down.

🔍 Manchester United’s home attendance this week: 9,346. The lowest in Division 2 by some distance. The average home gate this season is 7,897 – the worst figure in the division. Form and finances are both heading the wrong way.

❤️ Division 3 – The fortress falls

Bristol Rovers had won every single home game this season. Eleven from eleven – the best home record in the league. David Griffiths’ side came into this week nine points clear at the top of Division 3 on 46 points, and looked like they might finish the season unbeaten on their own ground. Then Charlton Athletic came to the Memorial Stadium and won 3-1. Mendonca scored a hat-trick – 24 minutes, 56 minutes, 60 minutes – with only Zekhnini’s goal on 23 minutes offering any comfort for the home side. Rovers’ unbeaten home record is gone.

💡 Wayne McCauley’s Charlton Athletic are third in Division 3 on 38 points and in the League Cup semi-finals. They’ve won four of their last five. A quietly impressive run at exactly the right time of season.

Down at the bottom, Chelsea drew 1-1 with Sevilla – Bekiroglu pulling one back on 71 minutes after going behind – and sit 15th on 14 points. Mark’s side have one win in six. Crystal Palace are 16th on 13 points and unmanaged – the dugout at Selhurst Park has been empty for some time now, and the Circuit is running the show there. There is two points between them and Chelsea with nine games to play. The gap to survival is six points.

💛 Division 4 – Three at the top, two at the bottom

Borussia Dortmund move to the summit of Division 4 on 40 points after Jody Downey’s side beat Newcastle United 1-0 – Crouch with the only goal on 40 minutes. Cardiff City drop to second on 38 after drawing 1-1 at Nottingham Forest late in the game, Gragera equalising on 88 minutes. Leeds United are also on 38 in third. Three clubs at or around the top separated by goal difference and two points – this promotion race has everything still to play for.

At the other end, Johan Van Damme’s Ajax are bottom on 14 points despite beating Austria Vienna 2-0 this week – Kravets scoring twice. That win came against a side that had just got a new manager in Zeus, who inherits a difficult situation. Manchester City are 15th on 15 points after losing at home to Port Vale, 0-1. Glenn’s side have now lost five of their last six. Nottingham Forest are 14th on 19 after the late equaliser denied them three points against Cardiff – Chris Houldey’s side are five points above the bottom two but that gap is not comfortable with nine games left.

⚠️ Ajax: bottom of Division 4, beaten only once in their last five home games – but they can’t buy a point on the road. Zero away wins all season, five away losses in the last five. Johan Van Damme’s side are in serious trouble.

🏆 League Cup – Semi-finals set

The quarter-finals were played this week and the four semi-finalists are confirmed. The standout result was Portsmouth’s 4-1 win away at Walsall – a Division 1 side beaten convincingly at home by a club from Division 2. Gordon Ottershaw’s Portsmouth have been building quietly all season and they are now one win from a cup final.

The semi-finals are scheduled for Week 25. Nottingham Forest host Portsmouth, and Sporting Lisbon host Charlton Athletic. Clubs knocked out at the semi-final stage receive £220,000. The final winner takes £550,000.

🗞️ Around the league

Eight score draws this week and three managers guessed correctly – congratulations to James J E Harman of Real Madrid, Wob of Juventus, and Paul Lamming of Rapid Vienna, each taking home £266,666. A decent midweek payday, even if results on the pitch were a mixed bag for all three.

Two new managers joined the league this week. Will Hayward takes charge of Bayern Munich in Division 2, inheriting a side with work to do on 19 points. Zeus arrives at Austria Vienna in Division 4. Welcome to both – they’ve picked an interesting moment to join.

The Police Report made for uncomfortable reading. Fighting broke out during two matches this week: Inter Milan vs Middlesbrough saw 82 arrests, 13 officers injured and £99,492 of stadium damage. Bristol Rovers vs Charlton Athletic – already a heated occasion given what was at stake – produced 52 arrests, 4 officers injured and £74,368 of damage. Both clubs will be dealing with the consequences of that.

Five clubs reached the Rival Awareness milestone this week – AS Monaco, Middlesbrough, Leeds United, Inter Milan and Rangers are all now monitoring their designated rivals. The next threshold is 200 rival score points before an Official Rivalry can be declared.

The gossip sheet flagged a few personal stories doing the rounds. Leonardo Silva of Manchester United was linked with chemical escapism. Juan Valverde of Newcastle United had a run-in with the taxman. Alberto Cossentino of Grimsby Town gambled away his money. And Rapid Vienna’s Jesper Blomqvist apparently exhausted his finances on bets. Whether there’s truth in any of it remains to be seen – but managers are advised to keep an eye on their squads’ personal lives. It can matter more than it looks.