Debrecen 0-1 Liverpool
David Ngog's early goal gave Liverpool victory, but Fiorentina's win put Liverpool out of the Champions League
Tuesday, 24, Nov 2009 11:01
By Matt Hallam.
Liverpool crashed out of the Champions League despite beating Debrecen after Fiorentina secured a 1-0 win over Lyon.
Prior to kick-off Liverpool knew they were relying on Lyon to get at least a point in Florence while they had to win in Budapest.
David Ngog's fourth minute goal gave Liverpool the victory they had to secure if they had any hopes remaining in the competition.
However, Fiorentina rendered the result meaningless with a 1-0 win against Lyon that secured their place in the last 16 and condemned Liverpool to the Europa League.
It is the first time in Rafa Benitez's reign as manager that Liverpool have failed to progress from the group stage and is another blow to their stuttering season that will increase the pressure on the Spaniard.
Benitez welcomed back Glen Johnson to his side but was still without Fernando Torres and Albert Riera, as well as Ryan Babel who was injured in the game against Manchester City at the weekend. Fabio Aurelio started on the left with Yossi Benayoun struggling with a hamstring strain whilst David Ngog led the attack with Steven Gerrard in support.
Liverpool made the perfect start with a goal after only three minutes. Fabio Aurelio floated a deep cross in from the right for Jamie Carragher who headed across goal where Ngog was waiting to flick the ball past Debrecen goalkeeper Vukasin Poleksic.
The early goal was an obvious confidence boost for Benitez's side and they should have doubled their lead after ten minutes when Gerrard whipped in a cross from the right, however, Dirk Kuyt could only flick his stooping header wide.
Liverpool continued to pin Debrecen in their own half but found it hard to break through the Hungarian side's defence. Ngog forced a good save from Poleksic though after picking up a pass from Kuyt and cutting inside to shoot.
Debrecen finally fashioned a chance on the half hour as news filtered through to Budapest that Fiorentina had taken the lead against Lyon. Zoltan Szelesi sent in a cross from the right for Gergely Rudolf who got between Carragher and Daniel Agger but headed wide.
Liverpool reacted well though with Poleksic denying Ngog again as the young French striker released a snap shot from the edge of the box after Gerrard's layoff.
They continued to dominate after the break but couldn't find a second goal with Gerard denied twice - first by Norbert Meszaros who blocked his shot as he raced through on goal and then by Poleksic who made a smart save after Johnson had teed up the Liverpool captain.
Lucas then had an excellent opportunity but failed to connect properly with Kuyt's cross from the right before Carragher flashed a header across goal and wide from Aurelio's corner.
Debrecen began to threaten as the final whistle approached with Rudolf hitting a drive from a tight angle on the right that Pepe Reina did well to keep out after being largely redundant for the majority of the game.
They almost equalised in stoppage time with the Liverpool defence allowing the ball to bounce and Adamo Coulibaly to shoot, however Reina palmed the ball away to ensure victory for Liverpool.
The result mattered little though with Fiorentina's win knocking Liverpool out of the Champions League at the group stage for the first time in five years.