As far as progressing in the tournament is concerned, our first home defeat of 2002 shouldn't matter too much as a win in Basel shouldn't be beyond our capabilities. But when one considers what was really on the line tonight, this defeat starts to sting a little.
There was an awful lot of pride at stake following the mauling we took from the Spanish champions in the Mestalla Stadium. It was up to Houllier's men to prove to the fans, the rest of Europe and most importantly themselves that Valencia's pre-match boasts were simply that. To prove that we are up there with the very best in Europe. Unfortunately we fell a little short and there is an awful lot of work to do to catch Valencia.
Before the game a favourable outcome seemed on the cards, and stepping into Anfield during YNWA just cemented that view. This was the first time in ages that when walking into Anfield, the noise simply took my breath away, and the intimidating atmosphere seemed to unsettle Valencia in the early stages.
However to their credit, they found their feet relatively quickly, picking up where they left off last month. The reds really struggled to prize the ball from the silky Spaniards and the amount of times we gave possession away really didn't help matters, Murphy and Gerrard were especially guilty. One would have thought they'd have learned from last time.
The warning for reds came on 26 minutes as Baraja sent the ball flying, high into the Kop from 6 yards, but Valencia's winner, 7 minutes later, was more than a little fortuitous.
Some fine work on the edge of the area from that bigmouthed prick John Carew saw the ball laid back to Rufete who's shot took a wicked deflection off Hyypia and nestled into the back of the net. Francisco Rufete is a horrible cheating little bastard, and to single him out from a team of horrible cheating bastards is quite an accolade. The same can be said for the Argentine duo of Kily Gonzales and Pablo Aimar, but in coming from the country that invented cheating, they should be allowed a little more leeway.
With Valencia's defensive solidarity being the catalyst for their Spanish title success, it looked an awfully tough challenge for the reds, especially with our inability to keep possession for more than 5 passes. Steven Gerrard will look back on his golden opportunity shortly after the goal and see that this was our route back into this game. His weak 10 yard shot was easily saved by Canizares.
There is something about Gerrard's game that is really unsettling at the moment. He seems to just disappear from games at a time when we need his qualities the most and there is a certain amount of exuberance lacking from his play. His distribution has been terrible of late and his ability to take the game by the scruff of the neck has all but disappeared. Snap out of it Steven, we need you.
Liverpool began the second half very well, the passing game began to work and the crossing was certainly a damn sight better. At the back we seemed in control, with Djimi Traore magnificent alongside Sami. This was as good as I have seen Traore in a Liverpool shirt.
Just two minutes after the break, Michael Owen was presented with a gimme of a chance to level the scores after a great turn and pull back from Heskey. After a great first touch, a goal seemed the only outcome. Sadly a great stop from Canizares saved the day for the visitors. It would have been nice for Michael to stick one away. Why is it that every time we have a big European game, a deadbeat like John Carew has to open his trap?
Several goalmouth scrambles were to follow but no further clear cut chances presented themselves. However just as Heskey was really getting amongst the Valencia defence and causing a few problems he was mysteriously substituted. Gerrard never takes off Emile, even when he's playing shite, so why now? Granted, Emile was just returning from injury but he wasn't looking at all tired, quite the contrary.
Baros was brought on, which was in itself a good move, but in truth it really should have been Michael who was substituted, as he hadn't had the most profitable of nights. Vladi also entered the fray for the disappointing Murphy, but to play through the middle?
Our Midfield now looked unbalanced to say the least, Gerrard on the right, Vladi and Didi in the middle, and Diao on the left. Baros added some life, but the boy really needs to get his head up at times and look for his team mates, a Baros pass doesn't happen to often. Right at the death, Milan had a difficult chance to level the scores, but his left foot volley was again saved by the 'keeper.
One could only imagine the noise that a goal would have elicited from a seriously riled-up Anfield crowd. In between some incompetent refereeing and some disgraceful gamesmanship from Valencia, it was all getting rather heated. The fans deserve a lot of credit for tonight however, if only it could be like that every week.
Valencia completed what for them will be a famous victory, emulating their compatriots Barcelona, by winning at Anfield. But looking back, for all of their fancy interplay in the first half, Valencia weren't great. They defended stubbornly and had a lot of good fortune at the right times, the goal being a prime example. Apart from Baraja's early miss, they created not one clear cut chance.
Perhaps they are right? Liverpool do have a hell of a long way to go to match the Spanish clubs, hell who doesn't? But the fact of the matter is, we are getting there, albeit slowly. If we can overcome Basel and progress to the second stage, then there is no reason why Valencia and Liverpool cannot meet further down the line, where their arrogance may well come back and bite them in the ass. It has a habit of doing so.
Team: Jerzy Dudek; Jamie Carragher, Salif Diao (Bruno Cheyrou), Sami Hyypia, Djimi Traore; Danny Murphy (Milan Baros), Steven Gerrard, Didi Hamann, John Arne Riise; El Hadji Diouf (Michael Owen), Emile Heskey:
