Liverpool won their opening game in the Europa League knockout stages, thanks to a David Ngog goal within the last ten minutes of the fixture. For the Reds, it was a game of domination and frustration, as their Romanian opponents contained the hosts for much of the match.
For Rafael Benitez, this was the first time he had led Liverpool out in Europe’s unglamorous second-tier competition, nevertheless Anfield was typically a sell-out as the crowd looked to urge their team to victory. Although Spanish manager Benitez does have his critics, it surely must be remembered that he has kept Liverpool out of this lacklustre competition for many years. The Reds passionate fans have only realistically been able to dream of playing in the Champions League year-on-year thanks to the current manager’s achievements since his arrival.
Understandably, the crowd seemed to have lost their voices for much of the game, as Unirea’s unfashionable approach made the fixture seem more like a Champions League qualifier rather than a competitive European cup tie. Supporters will be hoping Liverpool can avoid this tournament in the future and instead be playing alongside Europe’s elite.
Liverpool started at a thrilling pace, with skipper Steven Gerrard managing to test the goalkeeper within the first thirty seconds of the match. Sadly, this was not an indication of things to come, as the Reds were made to battle for any further decent chances.
Rafa’s Reds dominated possession, to the extent that much of the game was played in Unirea’s half, however a lack of spark and brilliance, combined with the oppositions frustrating tactics meant that the 40,000 spectators at Anfield were hardly entertained during the first forty-five minutes, with the only hope of a goal realistically coming from the numerous amount of corners Liverpool forced.
Dirk Kuyt looked the liveliest out of the pack, as he went close with a shot which went agonisingly across the goalmouth. David Ngog also saw an effort go wide, but apart from those couple of moments, Unirea looked able and more than willing to contain the hosts.
The second half was equally as irritating for Liverpool, unable to break the Romanian side down. Fabio Aurelio came closest to breaking the deadlock, though his rasping long range drive was saved comfortably by the goalkeeper.
Urziceni, who showed minimal intent in going forward themselves, seemed pretty comfortable in holding the Reds for much of the game. The Romanian team who also entered this competition via Champions League elimination, were playing for the first time in a couple of months, due to the Winter break in their league.
It took some substitutions from Rafa Benitez to inject a bit of pace and creativity into the side, with Dutch bench-warmer Ryan Babel making the most of his cameo appearance with some decent runs down the flank when he appeared. The crowd greeted the second replacement Daniel Pacheco, with much enthusiasm. The young forward has been the talk on Merseyside recently, having made a couple of exciting substitute appearances for the Reds this season.
Ryan Babel showed great vision in sending a superb cross into the box, for Pacheco to head the ball across to Ngog, who placed the ball into the back of the net with a close-range header.
Suddenly, Liverpool looked capable of a second, with Gerrard hitting a shot just wide of the post. A second goal would seemingly have killed the tie off completely, but Gerrard and company will have to be content with the fragile 1-0 victory.
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