Rafael Benítez realized fifteen minutes into the game that he was wrong to think that George Wood was the weak spot that Liverpool could capitalize on. George Wood's poor performance in previous games hadn't carried over to this game.
Gerrard ran into trouble in the midfield. George Wood's resolute defense made it hard for him to progress any further up the pitch. Left with no other choice, Gerrard passed the ball over to Mascherano.
Mascherano wasn't having an easy time either because he still had to deal with Gago's attacks.
The two were teammates in the Argentina national football team. Mascherano was regarded as a "guaranteed" starting player in the team, whereas Gago was a player who would start in some games and sit on the bench for others, and he hadn't been able to perform very well.
