UEFA Champions League, Liverpool 1 Chelsea 0: In one night all Liverpool's grandeur has been restored. Thanks to Luis Garcia's fourth-minute goal, they stand proud over English football once more as the club that will seek a fifth European Cup by taking on PSV Eindhoven or, almost certainly, Milan in the final on May 25th.

They were often pinned back and, had Didier Drogba converted a header in the 83rd minute or Eidur Gudjohnsen not flashed a shot wide in stoppage time, Chelsea would have been bound for Istanbul instead. Despite that there was no fluke to a durability that has been Liverpool's prime asset under Rafael Benitez in the Champions League.

The European nights have been a series of glistening exceptions for Liverpool and here, more than ever, the passion of the crowd vapourised all the mediocrity that has tarnished the Premiership fixtures. Conviction was soon added to emotion, with a lead snatched in the fourth minute.

After that there could be no extra-time and no penalty shoot-out, but the visitors had always assumed that they would have to score at Anfield and, in that sense, the facts of the fixture had barely altered. The mood, however, was an entirely different matter.

Chelsea needed all their self-possession to shake off the feeling that they were being harried out of the Champions League. The home spectators howled to break the concentration of the visitors whenever they tried to compose themselves by holding the ball for extended periods.

The home defence looked as obdurate as it had been at Stamford Bridge and Dietmar Hamann, back from six weeks of injury, enhanced the solidity of the midfield and even had the hunger to charge in for a shot when Frank Lampard ran into trouble near his own penalty area in the 26th minute.

The early goal had come with a move in which John Arne Riise broke on the left before Steven Gerrard, who had winkled possession away from Lampard earlier in the move, fed Baros. The Czech striker lobbed Petr Cech, who was charging at him dangerously, and Garcia rolled the ball towards the target. The referee Lubos Michel then judged that the finish had crossed the line before William Gallas cleared it.

There were no real protests. Chelsea presumably knew that the official could have done them even greater harm by sending off Cech and awarding a penalty.

Rivals often feel that Chelsea, in a fairer world, would have a fixed handicap imposed on them every week. For Liverpool the wish came true. Just as in the first leg, Arjen Robben was fit enough only to be a substitute and Damien Duff was in no condition to be in the squad.

Injuries and absences are a normal aspect of the sport, but whereas Benitez could replace the suspended Xabi Alonso with Hamann, his opposite number felt confounded. "It's a problem we cannot solve," Jose Mourinho had said of the potential loss of both Robben and Duff.

No one can ever believe that any conundrum will leave this manager powerless, but his dejection carried weight. It was obvious at Stamford Bridge that the transition from defence to full attack is laboured when Robben and Duff are not around to make the high-speed connection.

There was a forcefulness in Chelsea's recovery effort, but the clinical runs of Robben were badly missed. When, for instance, Joe Cole put Didier Drogba into the penalty area with an angled pass he was soon dispossessed.

Nor did Chelsea then exploit lapses fully. When Garcia was robbed by Lampard in the 24th minute, the ensuing cross by Cole drifted untouched through the six-yard box.

Chelsea's attacking was not as concerted as Mourinho would expect, with too much hope invested instead in Drogba's willingness to battle with defenders.

After an hour, Baros was relieved of his taxing role as Liverpool's lone striker as Djibril Cisse took over. It was a substitution that had always been part of Benitez's schedule and the game was also conforming to his plan.

All that, of course, could change and, in the 67th minute, Lampard crashed 30-yard free-kick that Jerzy Dudek had to match with a splendid save low to his right for a corner.

Within moments, Robben and Mateja Kezman come on. For once this was no suave tactical switch by Mourinho, just the gamble of a desperate manager who saw Liverpool's European heritage taking on a searing new life. - Guardian Service

LIVERPOOL: Dudek, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore, Hamann (Kewell 72), Biscan, Luis Garcia (Nunez 84), Riise, Gerrard, Baros (Cisse 59). Subs not used: Carson, Smicer, Warnock, Welsh. Booked: Baros. Goal: Luis Garcia 4.

CHELSEA: Cech, Geremi (Huth 76), Ricardo Carvalho, Terry, Gallas, Tiago (Kezman 68), Makelele, Lampard, Cole (Robben 68), Drogba, Gudjohnsen. Subs not used: Cudicini, Johnson, Forssell, Nuno Morais.

Referee: Lubos Michel (Slovakia).