Liverpool 1 (0) Standard Liege 0 (0):IT WAS A tie that no one at Liverpool ever wanted to be memorable. The assumption was unavoidable that it would be a technicality to be addressed before the club's name entered today's draw for the Champions League proper but in the end they needed a goal deep into extra-time to progress.
Liverpool were spared the ordeal of a penalty shoot-out only when Dirk Kuyt got on the end of Ryan Babel's cross to fire the only goal of the whole tie two minutes from the end to take Rafael Benitez's side through to the group stages of the Champions League.
This game, from its early exchanges, threatened Benitez with an anguish he had not known with Liverpool in the Champions League. Since he came to Anfield the worst it had got was the last-16 elimination by Benfica in 2006.
Given the triumph of taking the trophy against Milan three years ago, the Spaniard has a handsome record. The trouble is that all too much depends on this one tournament until Liverpool can sustain a bid for the Premier League title.
The result in the first leg with Standard Liege was enough to send anxious imaginations racing.
Hadn't the Belgians been unfortunate not to record a victory and wasn't it the case that an away goal for them here would cause panic? Onlookers steadied themselves with the thought Liverpool had a much superior squad and had since settled down to beat Sunderland and Middlesbrough.
It may not have much enduring relevance, but there was a minor satisfaction in knowing that they and Chelsea are the only clubs with full points in the Premier League. Apart from such minor reassurance on the domestic scene there had to be a hope that Liege had already made their supreme effort a fortnight ago.
There is, nonetheless, an unmistakable difficulty about any encounter with Liege. They have several hulking footballers who are free of any hesitation about using that heft. The Anfield atmosphere was, if anything, a stimulus to them. Benitez, preferring Martin Skrtel to Daniel Agger in central defence, had anticipated the sheer power of the visitors.
Liege were not stopped with ease. After an eager opening by Liverpool, they began to exercise the dominance that had been indisputable a fortnight earlier. The visitors set a high tempo and it was Jose Reina who pulled off the key saves in that period. Dieumerci Mbokani's 10th-minute effort had to be turned behind. He had, too, to react in the same way when Marouane Fellaini connected with an Igor de Camargo cross.
The Belgian champions were also playing the better football. A couple of incidents in a two-minute span encapsulated that. When Mbokani overwhelmed Skrtel even Jamie Carragher could only halt him with a foul. A little later, Marcos Camozzato, under pressure in his own area, still selected a pass to Fellaini that let Liege move downfield.
There was no answering verve from Liverpool. Steven Gerrard might have picked out Yossi Benayoun with a good pass in the 17th minute, but the applause after the Israeli's effort had gone behind rested on the trust that such a move was a harbinger of better play to come. It had not been delivered by the time the interval was reached. Liverpool badly needed a period of reflection in the dressingroom.
There could have been a discussion of long-established topics, such as the lack of finesse on the flanks. But while Liverpool had to live in a state of anxiety, Liege treasured their night at Anfield. You could detect that attitude in Boloni. When a particular decision went against his side, he looked round at the baying Liverpool fans and spread his arms as if appealing to their better nature.
The Liege manager was largely at peace because the opposition still had not altered the character of the game. It was Benitez who was obliged to react, bringing on Ryan Babel for Benayoun.
With half an hour left, Liverpool did at least look more insistent. There was evidence Liege's capacity to attack was dwindling. Even so, Liverpool had been prosaic and the visitors' goalkeeper Aragon Espinoza had not been called on for athletic saves. For Benitez's team, this mere third round qualifier had turned into a great struggle.
Guardian Service
LIVERPOOL:Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio, Kuyt, Gerrard, Alonso, Benayoun, Keane, Torres. Subs: Cavalieri, Dossena, Agger, Babel, Spearing, Plessis, El Zhar.
STANDARD LIEGE:Aragon, Camozzato, Onyewu, Sarr, Dante, Dalmat, Fellaini, Defour, Witsel, De Camargo, Mbokani. Subs: Devriendt, Goreux, Toama, Mikulic, Jovanovic, Nicaise, Ingrao.
Referee:Massimo Busacca (Switzerland).
