SOCCER/UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP PHASE/Liverpool 1 Debreceni 0:A LONG and arduous path lies ahead of Rafael Benitez in his quest to lead Liverpool to the city of his birth and the Champions League final next May but the first significant milestone has been passed on the road to Madrid.
Victory over Debreceni brought Liverpool their 100th triumph in European football’s premier competition and Benitez is intent on making inroads into the next century regardless of the club’s preoccupation with the Premier League title.
This match will not reside long in the annals beyond its statistical value, with Liverpool again making a gruelling night’s work of a game they should have won with greater comfort than Dirk Kuyt’s scrappy first-half goal.
To the pragmatic Benitez, however, the mission is not a romantic journey home to Spain but getting the job done. His players, though scared by two chances for Adamo Coulibaly late on, duly obliged.
Benitez marked the occasion of his 300th game in charge of Liverpool by treating Anfield to the rare gift of an unchanged team. His selection should also, Benitez must hope, serve as a wake-up call to Javier Mascherano, who was benched here having missed Saturday’s 4-0 win with a pelvic problem.
Mascherano has been a shell of his customary self this season and Liverpool lack the strength in depth to take passengers. A threat to his perceived automatic place is no bad thing in the circumstances.
Despite several early sights of goal for Yossi Benayoun and a composed start from the home side, there was to be no repeat for Liverpool of their 4-0 stroll against Burnley, especially against a side that won five of six qualifiers to get this far.
Liverpool were patient, Benayoun and Albert Riera both going close early on, but that familiar problem of prising apart a rigid defensive line became all too apparent as the first half wore on.
Debreceni twice went close to stunning Anfield by taking the lead as first Laszlo Bodnar scuffed an inviting shot wide and had a long-range free-kick held by Jose Reina, while Peter Czvitkovics saw a 20-yard drive tipped over by the Liverpool goalkeeper following a poor clearance from Martin Skrtel.
Reina’s save ushered in a belated period of dominance for Liverpool, however.
The visiting goalkeeper, Vukasin Poleksic, saved superbly from Riera when the Spaniard was put clear by a defence-splitting pass by Jamie Carragher of all people.
Dirk Kuyt followed in to convert the rebound but failed to connect cleanly and Norbert Meszaros cleared off the line. Not this time for the Dutch international.
Riera picked out Steven Gerrard with an inviting low cross from the left but, as Anfield rose to applaud a characteristic Gerrard finish, the Liverpool captain side-footed a glorious chance wide. The final touch of the first half brought relief, however.
Benayoun picked out Fernando Torres on the edge of the Debreceni area and the previously subdued Spaniard sprung to life. Though Poleksic parried Torres’ low shot on the spin from 20 yards Kuyt was again on hand and this time he made no mistake, beating the keeper convincingly from close range.
Kuyt’s 12th Champions League goal for Liverpool took him to joint third in the club’s all-time scorers list in the competition, which is some achievement given the amount of tireless shifts he has put in out on the right.
The Dutchman’s refusal to ever allow a defender a second on the ball almost yielded a fabulous second for Gerrard in the second half but his superb volley, from a Debreceni clearance rushed under pressure by Kuyt, flashed inches over the crossbar.
The Hungarians remained dangerous on the counter-attack but Liverpool were rarely susceptible and Benayoun tested Poleksic once again following a fine run beyond four Debreceni players.
LIVERPOOL: Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Skrtel, Insua, Benayoun (Mascherano 87), Lucas, Gerrard, Riera (Babel 80), Kuyt (Aurelio 90), Torres. Subs not used: Cavalieri, Voronin, Kyrgiakos, Spearing. Booked: Gerrard.
DEBRECENI: Poleksic, Bodnar, Komlosi, Meszaros, Fodor, Kiss, Ramos (Laczko 67), Czvitkovics, Leandro, Szakaly (Feczesin 79), Coulibaly. Subs not used: Pantic, Szucs, Bernath, Olah, Katona. Booked: Fodor.
Referee: Pedro Proenca (Portugal).
