There is still light in Europa League

AGAINST a team known as The Mastiffs, Liverpool threatened to make a dog’s dinner of their Europa League aspirations last night.

Having seemingly tamed Les Dogues of Lille, Rafael Benitez's side were bitten with six minutes remaining as their tortuous campaign suffered another damaging blow.

Eden Hazard's strike consigned the Anfield outfit to their second setback in four days and further increased the pressure on their beleaguered manager.

But this wasn't in the same vein as Monday's abject surrender at Wigan Athletic. After rightly lambasting the character and attitude of his players, Benitez could have no such complaints last night.

Instead, the inability to take chances and the mental fragility that has seen them concede too often in the later stages of games - particularly in Europe - again proved their undoing.

Now Benitez's side must conjure up another famous Anfield night next Thursday or face waving goodbye to their final chance of salvaging something from a hugely disappointing campaign.

In many ways, this should have been the perfect fixture for Liverpool to rebuild their crumbling confidence.

Benitez has these European ties down to a fine art, and his side were set up to soak up the pressure and play on the break before gaining a foothold and slowly imposing themselves. Indeed, everything had gone according to plan for 84 minutes.

It's when the attacking onus has been placed on them that Liverpool's creative shortcomings have constantly been exposed this season. And thanks to Hazard's freak winner, Benitez's side have no option but to remedy those attacking ills inside the next week.

Amid the inevitable gloom of this defeat, however, were glimmers of hope. Liverpool were a much more cohesive attacking unit and created enough chances to have gained the all-important away goal, a failing they must ensure does not come back to haunt them.

And there was the encouragement of Fernando Torres showing signs of regaining the pace and sharpness Liverpool so desperately require during the final two months of the season Benitez admits will prove pivotal for the immediate future of the club.

While waiting for a new stadium to be constructed, Lille are playing their games at the Stade Lille-Metropole, an 18,000-capacity athletics venue with a pitch that resembled a beach given the amount of sand on the surface.

It was a further reminder of how far from the bright lights and glamour of the Champions League that Liverpool have fallen during the past few months.

The visitors knew a tough evening awaited. Lille had lost only one of their previous 16 European home games and, although beaten by Auxerre at the weekend, Rudi Garcia's side stand only four points behind leaders Bordeaux in Ligue 1.

After a dalliance with 4-4-2 on Monday, Benitez returned to his tried and trusted 4-2-3-1 formation with Steven Gerrard once again pushed up in support of Torres.

Daniel Agger shrugged off illness to resume at centre-back at the expense of the unfortunate Sotirios Kyrgiakos, while Ryan Babel replaced the ineligible Maxi Rodriguez.

Babel was one of the few Liverpool players to show any great urgency at the DW Stadium during a late cameo from the bench, and he was again among the most likely here.

There was an inauspicious beginning to the evening for Torres, the striker caught in the face by a flailing boot from left-back Emerson and so isolated during the early stages that at times there were more than 30 yards to the nearest team-mate.

However, with Gerrard and Babel offering greater support, Torres became more influential towards half-time as Liverpool started to make inroads.

Their clearest opening came on 26 minutes, when Torres and Babel exchanged a direct series of passes up the field before the Dutchman was played in on goal, only to fire straight at the legs of Lille goalkeeper Mickael Landreau.

Gerrard curled an ambitious effort over the crossbar from 35 yards before sparking Liverpool's next near moment on 42 minutes.

After the skipper's low angled free-kick was beaten out by Landreau, Glen Johnson - who appeared understandably rusty on his first start since December - returned the ball into the box towards Torres whose header was parried by the keeper, the threat ending when Dirk Kuyt was adjudged to have fouled Aurelien Chedjou in attempting to reach the rebound.

Liverpool had survived a Lille onslaught during the first 10 minutes in which Pepe Reina gathered a Yohan Cabaye shot barely seconds in and nobody was on hand to turn in Hazard's inviting low cross from the right flank.

But other than a burst at the end of the half when Hazard's fine run ended with a strike at Reina and Cabaye swept a free-kick harmlessly over the crossbar, Liverpool were rarely troubled.

Torres warmed to his task in the sub-zero temperatures, and his flick on shortly after the interval was struck wide by a stretching Lucas Leiva.

Babel once again tested Landreau's positioning with a fierce drive, and the away side were in control until almost pressing the self-destruct button midway through the second half.

After Reina made a meal of repelling Pierre-Alain Frau's 30-yarder, in attempting to clear the resultant corner Johnson passed straight to Florent Balmont whose instant cross was nearly deflected into his own goal by Agger.

Liverpool momentarily lost their discipline, with both Emiliano Insua and Torres booked for dissent. Sensing the unease, Lille upped their game and after Cabaye struck narrowly over with a dipping potshot from range, Reina had to claim substitute Stephane Dumont's shot at the second time of asking.

And matters unravelled for Liverpool in the 84th minute. Having only seconds earlier been unfortunate not to win a penalty after being challenged by Jamie Carragher, Hazard swung a free-kick in from the left flank that bypassed everyone before nestling into the corner of Reina's goal.

Substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang then struck the outside of the post before both Torres and Lucas had efforts blocked during a mad scramble and Gerrard's effort was deflected wide as Liverpool searched forlornly for the equaliser.

A disappointment, yes. But with the tie still in the balance, Liverpool have the opportunity to prove their tails are still wagging.

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.