NOTHING could have been worth the long wait Kenny Dalglish had to endure before taking charge of Liverpool in Europe.

But the Anfield manager will be a content figure this morning as his current charges maintained their unbeaten Europe League record this season.

An instantly forgettable goalless draw at Sparta Prague was not desired way to represent a landmark moment in Dalglish’s career.

The Scot, though, will know his team are now firmly in the box seat to reach the last 16 when the second leg takes place at Anfield next Thursday.

This was a typical Liverpool away European performance, the likes of which have been passed down through the Anfield managers and Dalglish the player will remember well.

And it was in keeping with the form shown under his predecessor Roy Hodgson, who successfully navigated 10 games in the competition before Christmas to qualify for the knockout stages with a match to spare.

With first leg ties in Europe traditionally cagey affairs, there was only a remote chance the game could live up to the £145 ticket price Sparta were asking of some Liverpool supporters.

However, those that made the trip might have expected a bit more excitement from what in truth was a dismal spectacle, a fifth clean sheet in six games and the return to action of Joe Cole the only real positives from a fourth successive European away draw.

Some 9,394 days after filling the Anfield hotseat in the wake of the Heysel disaster, Dalglish was in the Liverpool dugout in European competition for the first time last night.