Barcelona - 0 Liverpool - 0:The slender thread by which their lofty ambitions hang may be that little bit thinner but Liverpool at least leave Catalonia today still with hope of a place in the quarter-finals.
Phil Thompson's side made their point to much gnashing of teeth among the home support last night, a 14th successive unbeaten match on their European travels.
With Roma and Galatasaray drawing 1-1 in Rome, the permutations needed to qualify are confusing, but a healthy win next Tuesday at home to the Italian champions would smooth their passage into the knock-out phase.
Having failed to beat Galatasaray in their recent encounters, Liverpool arrived bottom of the group and conscious that defeat would trigger elimination.
With that in mind, they could have done without a Premier League commission finding them guilty of an illegal approach two years ago for Middlesbrough's German defender Christian Ziege, now with Tottenham, and imposing a £20,000 fine just hours before kick-off.
That penalty may yet prove relatively paltry. Other charges brought by Middlesbrough were thrown out, but the Teessiders, who had sought more than £2.5 million in compensation for a player they valued at £8 million but reluctantly sold to Liverpool for £5.5 million, intend to take the matter to the High Court.
If the news had hearts fluttering in the boardroom, it clearly had no effect on the pitch. Barcelona have a complex about Liverpool, born out of last season's UEFA Cup draw here, and clearly expected to blow the visitors away from the start. Instead, with Sami Hyypia and Stephane Henchoz outstanding, Phil Thompson's side weathered the early attacks and should have led by the break.
All too often Jari Litmanen, revelling on a stage he rarely graced as a Barcelona player, offered the subtlety. Phillip Cocu could not cope with the slick Finn early on, prompting a free-kick from which John-Arne Riise found Steven Gerrard unmarked at the far post. The midfielder, returning after four games on the sidelines with a groin injury, miskicked in front of goal.
That had Gerrard holding his head in his hands, though he did not learn from his profligacy. After 23 minutes, with the tension welling up, Danny Murphy's free-kick into a cluttered six-yard box was met by the leaping midfielder, towering above an out-of-sorts Bonano, but his header drifted agonisingly wide, prompting whoops of derision.
Belatedly, Carles Rexach's side found their stride. Thiago Motta's corner was flicked on by Frank de Boer and Javier Saviola just failed to connect. The diminutive Argentinian proved far more potent than Rivaldo - his knee sufficiently healed - and drifted beyond Carragher to cross for Luis Enrique, only for the Spaniard inexplicably to mistime his side-footed finish.
As the pressure mounted Dietmar Hamann momentarily lost his composure and clattered into Carles Puyol. His booking will lead to a suspension against Roma next week.
Even with Vladimir Smicer introduced to flood midfield, such breakaways were coming against a mounting tide of Catalan attacks. Saviola was proving a nuisance, flitting between defenders and crossing for Patrick Kluivert to head down and into Jerzy Dudek's grateful hands. The 20-year-old continued to buzz disconcertingly across the pitch, seeing a cross-shot deflected off Henchoz and wide, while Rivaldo stirred to blaze a 30-yard just wide of the angle.
When Saviola crossed for Christaval, given rare space by Hyypia, to head against the post the crowd caught its breath. Fortunately for Liverpool, the ball rebounded down to Cocu who, with Dudek helpless, miscontrolled in front of an empty net and, forced wide, fluffed his chance. Saviola preferred to go it alone moments later, nut-megging Carragher before dragging his shot wide.
Guardian service
BARCELONA: Bonano, Puyol, Christanval, de Boer, Coco, Cocu, Luis Enrique (Gerard 77), Motta, Rivaldo, Saviola (Geovanni 88), Kluivert. Subs Not Used: Reina, Abelardo, Xavi, Rochemback, Gabri. Booked: Cocu.
LIVERPOOL: Dudek, Xavier, Henchoz, Hyypia, Carragher, Murphy, Gerrard (Barmby 80), Hamann, Riise, Litmanen (Smicer 70), Heskey (Baros 74). Subs Not Used: Kirkland, McAllister, Biscan, Wright. Booked: Murphy, Gerrard, Hamann.
Referee: Kyros Vassaras (Greece).
