Liverpool on the march again

Each day until 31 December uefa.com will assess the fortunes of a UEFA Champions League participant. Today we look at Liverpool FC.

For Liverpool FC, the 2001/02 season represented the possible dawn of a new era, with the club's first participation in the UEFA Champions League since the tournament's inception in 1992/93 and like much of the year 2001, it has so far proved highly successful.

Early high
Even before Liverpool had kicked off their first season in Europe's premier club competition in 16 years, they had already picked up two more trophies to add to the hat-trick they won at the end of the 2000/01 season. In August, Liverpool overcame Manchester United FC 2-1 in the English Charity Shield, but of more significance to their impending European campaign, the UEFA Cup holders saw off Champions League winners FC Bayern München 3-2 in Monaco to lift the UEFA Super Cup, a deserved win that gave Gérard Houllier's squad confidence that they could compete on level terms with teams with greater European experience than them.

New arrivals
Replenishing the squad has always been a key ingredient to keeping ahead of rivals in the demanding world of European football and that is exactly what Houllier did in preparation for what was also the Frenchman's first experience of the competition. Although only two new recruits arrived, they have played a starring role in the team's Champions League success: In came Norwegian left-back/midfield player John Arne Riise from AS Monaco FC and Polish international goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek from Feyenoord, while club captain Jamie Redknapp had also recovered from his long-standing knee injury. Of equal importance was that the manager did not allow any of his integral players to leave.

FIRST GROUP STAGE: Cautious opening

Despite beginning their Group B campaign on a difficult night at Anfield against Portuguese champions Boavista FC, just hours after the 11 September terrorist attacks on the United States, and conceding a goal inside three minutes, Michael Owen earned Liverpool a 1-1 draw and the first of the 12 points that the Merseysiders were to collect in the first group stage.

Back-to-back wins
A typically battling, if not uninspiring goalless draw against BV Borussia Dortmund, at the scene of their UEFA Cup triumph six months earlier, in their second match left Liverpool with work to do in their double header with FC Dynamo Kyiv, the key confrontations of the group. However, before the first of those at Anfield, Owen tweaked his hamstring, resulting in his absence from the next three matches. His replacement, Jari Litmanen, scored the winner, but for the return meeting when Liverpool became the first British winners in the Olimpiyskyi stadium, the club were also without their manager, who had just undergone 12 hours of life-saving heart surgery in a Liverpool hospital.

Unbeaten and unbowed
In the end, following a draw in Porto against eventual group runners-up Boavista and a 2-0 home victory over Dortmund, the recovering Houllier could watch in satisfaction from his hospital bed as assistant manager Phil Thompson safely guided the four-times winners of the competition to the head of Group B, four points better off than surprise package Boavista and with just three goals conceded, the best defensive record alongside AC Sparta Praha.

SECOND GROUP STAGE: Playing with fire

Drawn in a tough group alongside FC Barcelona, AS Roma and Galatasaray SK, Liverpool's return to Europe took on a more daunting look in the second group stage and their worst fears were confirmed when Barcelona passed their way through Liverpool’s previously water tight defence to inflict on the club their first defeat in Europe in ten matches. The convincing away victory ensured Barcelona avenged their exit at the hands of Liverpool in the 2001 UEFA Cup semi-final. A goalless draw in Rome left Houllier with work to do as Liverpool went into the winter break sitting bottom of Group B.