The pressure is mounting on Brendan Rodgers, as his Liverpool side were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night at the hands of Paulo Sousa's FC Basel. The Swiss side were the better side for much of the game and led deservedly through Fabian Frei's 25th minute strike. Steven Gerrard tried to re-write the script late on, as he often used to, but his sensational costless-kick was not enough to spur Liverpool into a comeback. 

Rodgers' side weren't good enough for the first 81 minutes, being outmatched by the pacier Swiss champions. The Reds were handed a blow when promising substitute Lazar Markovic was sent off for raising an arm to the face of Behrang Safari shortly after the hour mark, but it had no real resemblence on the final outcome. Ultimately, they had to settle for the point which allowed the visitors to progress as the once dominant five times champions crashed out after a disastrous campaign. Here are five things we learned from the game:

1. Liverpool have lost their European touch.

When the draw was made back on August 28, Liverpool were delighted with the results. They would play reigning champions Real Madrid home and away, but it was seen as though they should be able to take a minimum nine points from four games against Ludogoretz Razgrad and FC Basel. After a five year absence from the competition, it was certainly a kind draw. It wasn't a virtual pass into the next round, but it was perhaps the best draw the Reds could have hoped for. Yet, still, in the post-mortem of their elimination - it's a fair analysis of their 2014-15 UCL campaign to say that even in such a group, they looked average at best. They leave with just one win from the competition and even that was via a late, late penalty which saved their skins. Their second-best performance came away at Real Madrid, where Rodgers' second-string side limited it just a single goal defeat at the Bernabeu. Elsewhere though, it was much disappointment. Real Madrid turned the Reds over on home turf, their biggest ever home European loss and Basel only had to turn up to take the three points over last year's Premier League runners-up in Switzerland, whilst Ludogorets managed to steal a point in Sofia late on. There were few highlights elsewhere and all too frequently, it was just too little. From a combination of managerial mistakes to under-par player performances, Liverpool were not up to the task of Europe's elite competition. After such a long time waiting for it, that will inevitably hurt the fans, who hoped at least for qualification into the Last 16. Instead, a series of bad decisions and amateuristic errors have consigned them to the Europa League - the dreaded second-tier of European football. Fair to say that where once Europe was a nice break away from the domestic struggles, now Liverpool are struggling to find solace just about anywhere. 

2. Steven Gerrard can no longer carry the team. 

Carrying something for 16 years would hurt. Just ask Steven Gerrard, he knows all about having the heavy weight expectation of millions on him. As Liverpool captain and once England captain, he has naturally become accustomed to it - but as the pressure grows on the weary one-club midfielder, it's become obvious that he can longer pull the Reds kicking and screaming through the mud. It's been obvious for more than a few years, but when a sublime moment of world-class brilliance from Gerrard isn't enough for the Reds to nick the three points late on, then what is? The pre-match talk was dominated by reminders of THAT Olympiakos strike 10 years and two days ago and though his 100th goal at Anfield almost spurned another dramatic finale - the rest of his teammates were not up to his level. Admittedly, on the basis of the entire 90 minutes, it was not one of Gerrard's best. Yet, the captain was still able to produce when it mattered. When the time came, he was there to stand up - even if it was 81 minutes in waiting. His services to the club have been inarguable, and this is just the latest demonstration of the man's incredible talent. There may never be any other like him at Anfield, and it's important to remember that as his career wittles out to a finish. It would be hard to begrudge him something different, with his contract situation leaving him costless to talk to other clubs in January. It would be heart-breaking for the fans, but Gerrard has surely deserved restbite after what he has given the club over 16 years - undoubted loyalty and countless moments of glory. The past few months haven't been too kind, what with the high-profile error against Chelsea, the fashion in which his England side crashed out of the 2014 World Cup and the rapid decline of their current Liverpool team and though he's received criticism for a number of below-par performances, Gerrard is still the go-to man at Liverpool's time of need. Brendan Rodgers said they cannot afford to rely on him solely, before the game, and yet that was exactly what his other 10 teammates did. Even last season, he was the beating heart of their success. For as long Gerrard is on Merseyside, the Reds will always need him but unfortunately, he's not the man who could single-handedly win them a game 10 years ago, and Liverpool need to find a way of moving on from that. 

3. Lazar Markovic let himself down.

Despite a few impressive cameos throughout the campaign, it's fair to say Lazar Markovic, who cost £20 million from Benfica, has failed to impress. So when the 20-year-old came on and immediately sprinted at the Basel defence within a minute of the second-half, thoughts were suddenly turned to the fact that this could be the night he announces himself. Long-awaited it would have been, but becoming the catalyst in any victory over the Swiss wouldn't have harmed the Serbian's reputation all too much. And for 15 minutes, it looked like it could be exactly that. He ran at the defence with direct purpose. He wanted to change the game, to make his mark, to let the other side know he was there. Unfortunately, he went a little overboard - and overshadowed a promising display with a red card in the 61st minute. Though Brendan Rodgers and others have criticised the decision, it was a rookie error from Markovic. Raising his arm towards the face of the pursuing Behrang Safari behind him was never a clever idea, and when the Swede tumbled to the floor almost immediately - Markovic's fate was sealed. Be it meant malicious violent conduct or not, you cannot simply raise a flailing arm to your opponent's face in the modern game, or else you will face the consequences. It was a harsh lesson for the youngster, who looked like causing danger to Paulo Sousa's back-line whilst on the pitch, but it is one he will have to learn from. The 20-year-old is out of the Reds' upcoming Europa League ties unless the card is rescinded, but he is also likely to be shunned out of Rodgers' plans, having only just re-emerged into them. The Serbian has a lot more to do to convince fans he is worth keeping patience in just yet. 

4. Brendan Rodgers must improve over the next two.

Starting from yesterday, Rodgers inevitably faced perhaps the biggest eight days of his managerial career. FC Basel in a crucial Champions League tie, Manchester United away and a crunch Capital One Cup tie away at Bournemouth the following mid-week was seen as a chance for Liverpool to either put themselves to the grindstone, or see their season come crashing down in front of them. It's now or never, for Liverpool - and it hasn't started off well. Last night's draw was demoralising, but there is no time to dwell. Manchester United may not be producing the performances, but they are winning. Five games on the bounce, in fact. But the form book often "goes out of the window" in huge derbies, and Rodgers will be hoping that this is one of them. He will be central to any victory, just as he has been fundamental for detrimental displays recently. His decision-making has come under question, particularly as to why he seems keen to run 32-year-old Rickie Lambert into the ground without even placing their only other available forward - Fabio Borini, on the bench. No-one, bar the Northern Irishman himself, seems to quite know what he's thinking this term. In an almost blind panic, he has disposed of everything that made his side so good last season - stripped them of identity and has failed to field his best performers. It only recently dawned upon him that £20 million centre-back Dejan Lovren has little use in the starting line-up, and that 34-year-old Steven Gerrard has to be rested for certain games. He cannot afford to make such errors at Old Trafford this weekend, or else they will pay the consequences, and there's not much more that Liverpool supporters hate than a loss to their arch-rivals across the M62. Bournemouth, too, is equally as vital. The Reds have narrowly scraped through games against Middlesbrough and Swansea at home, both which they made hard work of, but they may not be so fortunate versus the Cherries. They had to field Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge there to avoid a banana skin in the FA Cup Third Round last season, but without those two this time around, Eddie Howe and his team will believe they can beat the Reds - and why shouldn't they? Liverpool need a couple of big performances now and they need their players to stand up or be counted, or this season could quickly further take the downward spiral. 

5. The Europa League is a viable alternative.

Let's get it straight, first and foremost, that the UEFA Europa League is vastly inferior to the Champions League - both in quality and financial terms, but that doesn't mean that it should be cast away by Liverpool. They are now automatically put into the Last 32 of the competition, via their third place finish in the group, and the competition offers an alternative route of 2015-16 Champions League qualification, with the small matter of vital silverware added in too. Granted, it's not as illustrious or as desirable as the Champions League. Europa League games, on Thursday nights, are regularly forgotten about or completely ignored. Rarely do people speak about it in the same way they do the top-flight European level, but the winners of the competition are now gifted entry into next year's top-tier. Surely then, it is something that should be taken seriously. Regardless of the lengthy trips to unknown cities across forgotten countries, the simple matter of fact is that - win nine games, and you're in next year's Champions League. The opposition won't be easy, with the likes of last year's winners Sevilla, Villarreal, Everton and Borussia Mönchengladbach all lurking in the competition - but the Reds surely have as much chance of gaining qualification via those means, as they do to acquiring fourth place. Manchester United, who sit one point above fourth, are already seven points ahead of Liverpool and they have a golden opportunity to make that 10 on Sunday. The Reds' competitors are getting away from them, even if Spurs and Arsenal seem just as inconsistent. The longer it takes for Liverpool to re-find their form in the league, the further cast away they will be. Whereas the Europa League next round is not until February, when we may have had the opportunity to witness how Daniel Sturridge and Mario Balotelli combine up top. 

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About the author
Charlie Malam
Digital Sports Writer at the Daily Express. First-class Staffordshire University Sports Journalism graduate. Formerly VAVEL UK's Liverpool FC editor and Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Contributor since June 2014.