Hyypia steals it for Pool

Auxerre 0, Liverpool 1

The Merseysiders had been outplayed for long spells, but with Auxerre lacking a cutting edge to their clever play, Liverpool hung in, defended superbly, and grabbed a crucial away victory.

Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier left German midfielder Dietmar Hamann on the bench and stuck with his all-English central midfield pairing of Danny Murphy and Steven Gerrard.

John Arne Riise was pushed forward on the left to allow Djimi Traore in at left-back as Houllier opted for his preferred front pair of Michael Owen and Emile Heskey.

Auxerre's cramped little Stade Abbe-Deschamps home holds just 21,000 when full but certainly has atmosphere. It rocked with noise as the French League's fourth-placed club spread the play wide on their big pitch, relayed less than 24 hours ago.

But twice Owen almost got on the end of long balls, both from Gerrard, while Heskey had what looked an even better chance when Gerrard's accurate low pass got him goalside of Boumsong, but the defender got back to shrug aside the big striker.

A rash challenge on 16 minutes by Gerrard, just outside the box on Auxerre skipper Yann Lachuer, allowed a quick free-kick and a 20-yard shot from Mwaruwari Benjani cleared Jerzy Dudek's bar.

And only a finely-timed covering tackle on Khalilou Fadiga, after he had slipped past Jamie Carragher, stopped Auxerre taking the lead on 19 minutes.

Next to try for the French side was clever wide midfielder Lionel Mathis, who moved in from the right flank to send a neat curler just past the post from outside the box.

Mathis then found himself on the left and took a chipped pass from Fadiga to get inside Carragher, mis-hitting his shot from just eight yards out.

Liverpool had looked bright early on but by now they were stringing five across midfield and still giving the ball away far too often to allow the pressure to ease.

Heskey was then put away on the right by Murphy and yet again he was just eased off the ball by Boumsong, who looks a class act and was doing his summer sale price no harm at all.

Owen looked anything but full throttle, seemingly uneasy with the soft, spongy pitch.

Hyypia was then called upon to throw himself in the way of a fierce drive from fellow Finn Teemu Tainio five minutes before the break. The ball bounced up off his right boot onto his arm but it was clearly unintentional.

Owen, at last, got away in the box onto a Riise pass, got to the line and pulled the ball back only for the ball to be shepherded out with Heskey half a yard behind.

The second period started in the same vein, with Tainio skipping past Gerrard and Traore.

Liverpool were reduced to chasing shadows, with Auxerre quick, clever and mobile often pulling Liverpool all over the park.

Fabien Cool had still not had a shot to save, a total spectator for long, long periods.

Mathis took on Riise, Traore and Murphy in a tight spot and beat them all, with Houllier on the line powerless to stop the waves of attacks beating down on his overworked defence.

But on 56 minutes there was a glimmer of hope for Liverpool as Heskey, for once, got away from Boumsong and charged into the box but Cool thwarted him by diving at his feet to touch the ball away.

Auxerre's response was for Lachuer to glide away on the right and fire a shot across goal that evaded Dudek's dive and slipped agonisingly wide of the far post.

Owen, however, managed to get himself above Boumsong and Mexes on 65 minutes to reach a Riise cross from the left, sending his header just over the bar.

Diouf was booked on 68 minutes for a foul on Tainio, and before the free-kick Liverpool took off Henchoz, moved Traore to centre-back and Riise to left-back, with Salif Diao coming on in midfield.

Cool was forced to make a flying save from Murphy's free-kick and then saw a corner from the same player clip his near post as Liverpool upped the tempo and then claimed the lead.

Owen, Diao and Murphy combined to set up Hyypia, of all people, who was still in the box from a corner, to fire left-footed into the corner of the net.

That, not surprisingly, stung Auxerre into action, and only a stunning save from Dudek, playing his 50th European tie, kept out Benjani from just six yards.

Owen then managed to squirm his way through on the left but was thwarted by Cool's dive at his feet.

A minute from the end Tainio somehow managed to fire wide from eight yards after Liverpool failed to clear a right-wing cross.

In the dying seconds Milan Baros came on for an exhausted Owen.

AUXERRE: Cool, Radet, Jaures, Boumsong, Mexes, Faye, Lachuer, Tainio, Fadiga, Mathis, Mwaruwari.

LIVERPOOL: Dudek, Carragher, Henchoz, Hyypia, Traore, Diouf, Murphy, Gerrard, Riise, Owen, Heskey.

Referee: M De Santis (Italy).