Liverpool win 3-2 on aggregate
STEVEN GERRARD may have had a funny tummy but Liverpool sidestepped a stomach-churning Champions League upset in Kiev last night.
Safe passage to the group stages and its £12million riches was assured after a hard-earned draw against Maccabi Haifa secured an aggregate success for Rafael Benitez's side.
And it is with huge relief that Liverpool find their name in the bowl for tomorrow's draw after a tie that proved a serious test both on and off the pitch.
Few Liverpool ties in Europe can have experienced such a controversial build-up as this one, with Benitez targeted by accusing Israeli journalists upset at the fact the game had been moved from the war-affected country to Ukraine.
That grilling followed an eventful journey to Kiev that met all the clichés of a tricky European trip.
Among many other things, Peter Crouch had his entry to the country delayed by leaving his passport in luggage that was subsequently marooned in an airplane parked in "the wrong place".
No doubt Maccabi would have preferred Ukrainian passport control to have turned away the striker after Crouch continued his encouraging form with an excellent display leading the line, culminating in his nerve-settling 54th-minute header from Jermaine Pennant's cross. All the more pertinent given the arrival last week of £9million man Dirk Kuyt.
Yes, things might have been different had the second leg been played in Israel. Maccabi would certainly have enjoyed more fervent support, with most of the Kiev locals backing Liverpool last night.
There were a few butterflies late on when Roberto Colautti drew Maccabi level on the night, and the victory came with the cost of losing both Stephen Warnock and Mohamed Sissoko through injury, the latter expected to be sidelined for the next few weeks as Liverpool's early-season injury jinx continued.
But after a first leg in which they flattered to deceive, Liverpool were by far the dominant side last night as they delivered a polished, professional European performance in the Benitez tradition.
