Kuyt scripts Houdini escape for Reds

By Mark Oakley

London

Aug. 28: Five-times champions Liverpool, who were staring at Champions League elimination, scored the sole goal of the tie late on to oust Standard Liege and qualify for the lucrative group stages on Wednesday.

Dirk Kuyt’s goal with three minutes to go in extra time propelled the Reds into the hat for Thursday’s 32-team draw along with Arsenal who thrashed Steve McClaren’s FC Twente 4-0 at home for a 6-0 aggregate scoreline.

French first division front-runners Marseille muddled through after an unconvincing 2-1 home win against Brann to go through 3-1 on aggregate while Atletico Madrid thanked the form of Olympic gold medallist Sergio Aguero in their 4-0 beating of Schalke 04 in the Spanish capital for a 4-1 overall victory.

Liverpool goalscorer Kuyt told ITV television afterwards: "We wanted to play in the Champions League. We have been in the semifinal and final the last two years. It was a tough match but we believed in ourselves and it was a good performance." The Reds lifted the European Cup for a fifth time by beating AC Milan in Istanbul in 2005, then lost the final two years later to the same opponents.

Rafael Benitez’s side had been unconvincing all evening and the game appeared destined for penalties when Kuyt struck with a far post volley from Ryan Babel’s deep cross.

For Liverpool, the goal brought relief after a stuttering display that will have reinforced their manager’s determination to bring in new faces during the remaining five days of the transfer window.

Benitez had attempted to downplay the significance of the first leg draw in the build-up to this game, insisting his side would be better prepared than they were when the two sides met in Belgium.

Then, Pepe Reina’s penalty from Bonfim Dante had been largely responsible for Liverpool escaping with a scoreless draw.

And while the Anfield club’s form had been disappointing in their subsequent two league games, they came into this clash having secured back to back wins and with a growing self-belief that their season was about to fire into life.

Down in London William Gallas produced the perfect response to his critics as the Arsenal captain booked his side’s place in the Champions League group stages with a rare goal against FC Twente.

Gallas’s captaincy credentials had already been questioned after his meltdown against Birmingham last season, so when the France defender’s sloppy marking gifted Fulham a shock victory on Saturday he was inevitably singled out for some harsh words from fans and pundits. But Gallas led by example in the third qualifying round second leg against Twente. He was outstanding in defence and scored with a second half tap-in after Samir Nasri had given Arsenal the lead at the Emirates Stadium.

Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner scored in the closing stages to put the seal on Arsenal’s 6-0 aggregate victory. — AFP