HAVING already had his fill of Red whine for the season, the last thing Rafael Benitez needed last night was for Liverpool to provide further sustenance for his team's growing list of detractors.
The Anfield manager won't go as far as downing a bottle of Bordeaux's most famous export to wipe away the memory of a largely forgettable encounter.
But while this was far from a vintage Liverpool performance, a first away victory of the season could yet be regarded as a significant step on the road to recovery for Benitez' side.
The rare triumph in France strengthened Liverpool's position at the top of their Champions League group and, perhaps more importantly, will provide a much-needed morale boost ahead of a potentially season-defining Premiership visit to Manchester United on Sunday.
Remarkably, Peter Crouch's 11th goal of the season was Liverpool's first on their travels since the striker netted in the qualifier against Maccabi Haifa in Kiev in August - a drought 454 minutes long signalling their struggles away from Anfield.
The team meeting Benitez had called at the weekend in the wake of his team's disappointing form paid instant dividends, the manager delighted with the character demanded from his players given the absence of talismanic skipper Steven Gerrard.
But while the result was merited, Liverpool certainly made hard work of beating a spirited but limited Bordeaux outfit. The French side are by far the weakest in the group, and another victory in the Anfield return in a fortnight will almost certainly book Liverpool's place in the knockout stage.
History had suggested Liverpool would be in for a testing evening, having lost on six of their previous seven visits across the Channel to face French opposition and without an away win in Europe since defeating Anderlecht almost exactly a year ago.
No wonder Benitez was delighted with his defence after they secured only their second clean sheet of the season. Liverpool's back line has attracted plenty of criticism of late, but stand-in skipper Jamie Carragher and Sami Hyypia were both impressive as Bordeaux belatedly built up a head of steam in the final quarter.
