Owen in the zone when it matters

Vitesse Arnhem...0 Liverpool...1
They closed the roof in Arnhem's futuristic arena last night but there was never much chance of it caving in on Liverpool.

Success should have been more emphatic, with a plethora of opportunities scorned late on, but in the end Liverpool will be grateful for what they have. Quite how Kalle Sone prodded wide of an empty net after Rahamat Mustapha had struck a post remains a mystery. As it is, the 2001 winners return to Merseyside with a narrow victory behind them and a place in the last 16 surely to come.

Some 18 months after their jaw-dropping triumph in Dortmund, and with players and management still coming to terms with being jettisoned from the elite in Basle a fortnight earlier, Gerard Houllier's side grudgingly re-entered this competition as favourites.

By the interval they had shrugged off the early loss of Bruno Cheyrou, carried off clutching his groin, and led through Michael Owen's fifth European goal of the season, speared from the first opportunity gleaned by either side. By then mediocre opponents seemed resigned to the worst.

Steven Gerrard, back from his exile on the bench and with mind and body clearly refreshed, fizzed a pass into the area which was accepted smartly by Milan Baros. The Czech teased his markers to despair with instant control and quick feet but, realising he had scant room for a shot himself, chose to square a pass which the England striker gathered in his stride before squeezing a shot beyond Dragoslav Jevric.

The lead should have been swiftly extended as Gerrard's weighted pass was collected by the scuttling Owen, who left the hapless Marian Zeman in a mess on the touchline. The pull-back was perfect for Danny Murphy, unmarked and eager on the edge of the area, but he spooned wastefully over the bar.

Vitesse's wide-eyed defenders were soon ignoring the midfielder's burst on to Vladimir Smicer's nod-on, but Murphy found another way to miss, looping a header on to the roof of the net.

Arnhem, their place in the competition gleaned via the Intertoto Cup, are enduring as many headaches off the pitch as on it. With the club buckling under the financial pressure brought on by the construction of this spanking new arena, the supporters have launched a rescue bid to buy back the ground from the local authority after Vitesse were forced to become tenants. In the meantime the team languish in mid-table with their deficiencies all too evident.

Apart from Theo Janssen's attempts to conjure a response, they appeared toothless before the break, allowing Stephane Henchoz, returning from an eight-week absence, to settle back into the picture. When the former Sheffield Wednesday defender Dejan Stefanovic fluffed a header from under the bar before the break, that was as good as it got.

Their attacking display hardly perked up thereafter. Tim Cornelisse, released down the right, dawdled and lost possession to the retreating Djimi Traore. Janssen then dragged a free-kick feebly wide of Jerzy Dudek's post.

The Pole, who retained his position despite recent fumblings, had little opportunity to prove his quality. He gathered another Janssen free-kick smartly enough, but his role was effectively that of interested spectator.

When Liverpool threatened, though, they fell foul of familiar shortcomings. A succession of chances was passed up, with a bemused Jevric excelling whenever confronted. Murphy slipped a pass to Owen who, clean through, had his shot smothered by Jevric.

When Baros skipped away from Cornelisse and freed Owen for a 50-yard run on goal, the Yugoslav blocked the first attempt and the striker poked the rebound wide. Owen had two other close-range attempts denied within 30 seconds of each other before Smicer repeated the dose. So it seemed cruel on Baros to be withdrawn rather than one of his profligate partners.

VITESSE: Jevric, Cornelisse, Stefanovic, Frankel (Sone 73), Mustapha Riga, Claessens, Mbamba (Rojer 73), Janssen, Levtsjenko, Amoah, Zeman. Subs Not Used: Van Fessem, Van Beukering, Peeters, Dingsdag, Bochem. Booked: Frankel, Amoah.

LIVERPOOL: Dudek, Babbel, Henchoz, Hyypia, Traore, Murphy, Gerrard, Diao, Cheyrou (Smicer 9), Owen, Baros (Heskey 73). Subs Not Used: Diouf, Kirkland, Carragher, Biscan, Welsh. Booked: Diao. Goals: Owen 26.

Referee: M Gonzales (Spain).