SOCCER/UEFA Cup - Liverpool ... 1 Auxerre ... 0:Gerard Houllier may have taken little pleasure in humbling his old friend Guy Roux here last night but a celebratory post-match glass of Chablis in his hand and a victorious smile on his face, life for the Liverpool manager already appeared distinctly rosier.
A stuttering campaign has been revived, the self-doubt which had gripped Liverpool for months potentially swept away by a narrow but significant win.
That a first-leg advantage came courtesy of Sami Hyypia's solitary goal, allied to rugged defending that smacked of trophy-laden times, will have added to the manager's satisfaction.
A quarter-final berth beckons. Initially Liverpool pinged passes in neat triangles in their own territory, looking to Steven Gerrard, released from domestic suspension, to provide the forward impetus with trademark punts for his strikers to chase.
There were promising signs as possession remained red, Emile Heskey striding on to a Gerrard pass and Michael Owen doing likewise seconds later, but those glimpses of goal were snuffed out and, steadily, Auxerre found rhythm.
The strong arms of Jean-Alain Boumsong and Philippe Mexes - commanding centre-halves long coveted by the English Premiership who personify the wide-eyed spirit built by Roux over his 41 years at the club - suffocated both chances and it was not until just before the interval that Liverpool threatened again.
Owen wriggled around Johan Radet and squared across a gaping goal with Heskey, charging to the far post, unable to convert under Jean Sebastian Jaures's challenge.
Not that Liverpool had expected to glean too much from France's only remaining side in European competition. More people will cram into Anfield for the second leg than actually live in Auxerre, but the French are hardly minnows to be easily brushed aside.
The champions of England and Germany can testify to that, with Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund scarred and defeated as Roux's youngsters briefly lit up the Champions League earlier this season.
Even with Djibril Cisse suspended and Olivier Kapo injured, the home side offered plenty here to threaten reward. Benjani Mwaruwari, a 24-year-old Zimbabwean whose cup goal at the weekend was his first since November's victory over Dortmund, was a bustling presence to unsettle Jamie Carragher, even if his radar in front of goal was too skew-whiff for Roux's comfort.
Instead, the chief menace came from the Senegalese Khalilou Fadiga, enjoying his own personal duel with his compatriot and close friend El Hadji Diouf, whose marauding charges from the left of Auxerre's attacking trident added to Carragher's consternation.
Fadiga tricked the full back to collect Teemu Tainio's pass only for Diouf to flick the ball away as he prepared to shoot. Unperturbed, the Senegalese's cleverly chipped pass sent Lionel Mathis barging beyond an increasingly flustered Carragher, who at least recovered enough poise to smother the midfielder's eventual shot.
Tainu's shot hit Hyypia's backside from the edge of the area and maintained the home side's sense of urgency. Jerzy Dudek's breathtaking save denied the pesky Yann Lachuer's angled drive prompting howls of frustration from the Auxerre ultras behind Liverpool's goal. Those partisans nearer the play took more direct action and pelted Djimi Traore with an apple.
Yet Lachuer's diagonal run was a rare clear-cut opportunity chiselled out against a defence as impressive and resolute as Auxerre's until Stephane Henchoz hobbled off. But openings presented themselves more readily as Liverpool sat back and then sprang with menace.
Gerrard, as his side's creative hub, emerged from the frenetic French pressure to send Heskey scurrying between opposing defenders and clear on goal. But the England forward's first touch was more sledgehammer than subtle, allowing Fabien Cool to claim.
Heskey need not have worried for long. After Danny Murphy's mis-hit cross struck a post, the midfielder slid a precise pass through a clutter of bodies on the edge of the area for Hyypia - lingering after a corner - to finish smartly.
AUXERRE: Cool, Radet, Jaures, Boumsong, Mexes, Faye, Lachuer, Tainio, Fadiga,Mathis, Mwaruwari. Subs Not Used: Chabert, Grichting, Marin, Gonzales, Doumbe, Sirieix, Akale.
LIVERPOOL: Dudek, Carragher, Henchoz (Diao 69), Hyypia, Traore, Diouf, Murphy, Gerrard, Riise, Owen (Baros 90), Heskey. Subs Not Used: Arphexad, Babbel, Hamann, Biscan, Cheyrou. Booked: Diouf. Goal: Hyypia 73.
Referee: M De Santis (Italy)
