Lucky Liverpool Tread Line Between Success and Disaster

Liverpool's Champions League successes under Rafael Benítez have frequently contained luck and disbelief en route but even by their standards last night's reprieve in Belgium represented an astonishing start. Standard Liège could and should have sent Benítez's team home with a three-goal deficit and staring at an embarrassing early exit from the competition that has spared their manager throughout his four-year Anfield reign.

That they emerged unscathed, however, suggests another European adventure is on its way. Liverpool's attempt to record a hat-trick of European Cup triumphs in Rome, where this season's final will be held next May, began in the most inauspicious fashion. Liège were denied one legitimate goal, missed a penalty and at least one glorious chance to cause a major upset. It was their guests who resembled the Champions League rookies.

Stade Maurice Dufrasne reverberated to an exuberant crowd, one that witnessed this Standard Liège team secure the club's first league title for 25 years last season on the back of an outstanding 31-game unbeaten run. A mosaic involving Che Guevara greeted the teams' arrival and was an appropriate choice for an underdog hoping to dismantle the wealthy, established order of the Champions League. A mere 660 seconds into this season's competition, and that is precisely what they should have done.

The movement of Liège's forwards, the Congo striker Dieu Mbokani in particular, disarmed a ponderous Liverpool defence that is evidently yet to erase its deficiencies at set-pieces, while the distribution of the captain

Steven Defour from central midfield put his opponents' to shame. Eleven minutes in and Benitez's team were fortunate not to be trailing by two and contemplating elimination from the tie.

Their first almighty reprieve arrived following a foul by the awful Alvaro Arbeloa on Marouane Fellaini on the Liege left. From the subsequent, precision free-kick the midfielder escaped a static green line and faced a gaping goal to Jose Reina's right, but Felliani's effort was weak, emanating from his shoulder instead of his head. The ball struck the inside of the Liverpool post and, to a naked eye that was level with the 18-yard line, appeared to spin over the line before Reina could claw to safety. Norwegian referee Tom Ovrebo looked to his assistant, the flag stayed down, and luck shined on the visitors.

The officials' next major call was also wrong, but this time counted against Liverpool as the same assistant adjudged Andrea Dossena inside the penalty area when Wilfried Dalmat's right wing cross struck the £7m left-back on the arm. Dante Bonfim stepped forward from left back to take the dubious penalty but a finer effort is required to beat Reina from 12 yards that the defender's hard and low strike down the center, and the Spain international saved with his legs before gratefully clutching a miscued clearance from Dirk Kuyt. Dante was still raging at his miss as the players departed for the interval.

Liverpool were simply dreadful and needed 30 minutes just to retain possession. The much-vaunted strike partnership of Fernando Torres and Robbie Keane displayed an inevitable lack of understanding, with the £20.3m summer signing from Tottenham largely anonymous on his Champions League debut.

While there was a measured improvement from Liverpool after the break but the intent and the danger continued to originate from the Belgian champions. Igor De Camargo and Axel Witsel both just failed to connect in front of Reina's goal as Liege located holes in the visitors' rearguard too easily. In Gerrard's absence the young French midfielder Damien Plessis shrunk to the occasion, though he at least had inexperience as a factor for his minimal output. He received neither help or an example from those around him.

De Camargo spurned a glorious chance to open the scoring when he headed Witsel's left-wing cross wide of Reina's right hand post when, under little pressure at the near post, he should have forced the Liverpool goalkeeper into a save at the very least.