A remarkable goal by Steve McManaman two minutes from time, running from his own half on the right and finishing left-footed from the edge of the area, spared Liverpool the familiar feeling of failing to finish the job they had started. After scoring early and spending the opening half exposing the weaknesses of a Celtic side which relies almost exclusively on endeavour, Liverpool fell away to such an embarrassing extent that they fell behind with quarter of an hour left. Now, though, with their away goals, they will feel confident of making progress in the UEFA Cup, though their recent track record in Europe suggests they should take nothing for granted.
The Liverpool manager, Roy Evans, had spent the previous 24 hours serving up red herrings, culminating in the suggestion that Robbie Fowler would lead his attack. The Celtic coach Wim Jansen was hardly going to take that seriously. In any case the mischievous question is: who needs Fowler?
Liverpool do, of course, but not at the moment because they have the remarkable Michael Owen as a deputy. It is said that youth knows no fear but, at the age of 17, Owen is already wise enough to realise that as a striker he can prosper from the fear of others.
The task of shadowing Owen last night fell to Alan Stubbs, a traditional centre-half and life-long supporter of Everton. He struggled from the first whistle and in the sixth minute was reduced to the role of anguished spectator as Owen further embroidered a burgeoning reputation for lethal finishing.
It was a fine move, Steve McManaman finding Karlheinz Riedle, who nudged the ball forward for Owen to pursue. There was never any doubt that he would not score, a crisp chip beating Jonathan Gould inside his near post. Unable to hold possession and seemingly incapable of denying Liverpool the space in which they manoeuvred so smartly, Celtic almost looked like capitulating and might have done had McManaman not squandered a glorious opportunity three minutes after Owen's goal. Having sprinted clear of Stephan Mahe, McManaman reached the precise spot inside the penalty area where Owen had drawn back his boot. He then hesitated fatally, choosing eventually to knock the ball wastefully wide to the waiting Michael Thomas.
Thereafter Celtic improved, albeit marginally. Had they not done so the tie, never mind this opening leg, would have been decided long before last night's half-time whistle.
As Liverpool continued to miss chances Celtic slowly began to create them. Simon Donnelly and Craig Burley were both embarrassingly inaccurate when well placed but, if Celtic had effected a minor switch in the game's balance of power, The Liverpool goalkeeper David James still sat in the dressing-room during the interval staring down at unmuddied gloves.
The prospect for a Celtic recovery looked remote, yet eight minutes into a second half of more urgent tempo the status quo had been restored. In failing to clear a loose ball Matteo made his first mistake of the evening and it was emphatically punished by Jackie McNamara, who swept a rising drive just inside a post.
The complexion of the game was at once altered. Donnelly struck the underside of the crossbar with a fearsome drive and Bjorn Kvarme was fortunate not to concede a penalty after up-ending the same player.
But Celtic were not to be denied. With 16 minutes left they moved in front when Donnelly swept home a penalty after James had brought down Henrik Larsson.
Guardian Service
Celtic: Gould, Boyd, Mahe, McNamara, Stubbs, Larsson, Burley, Blinker (O'Donnell 45), Donnelly, Hannah, Wieghorst. Subs Not Used: Marshall, McKinlay, MacKay, Thom, Annoni, Gray. Goals: Donnelly 74 pen, McNamara 53.
Liverpool: James, Jones, Bjornebye, Kvarme, Wright, Matteo, McManaman, Ince, Riedle, Owen, Thomas. Subs Not Used: Berger, Warner, Babb, Kennedy, Carragher, Murphy, McAteer. Booked: Thomas, Ince, James. Goals: McManaman 89, Owen 6. Attendance: 48,526.
Referee: C Graziano (Italy).
Slovenia's Maribor Teatanic held former European champions Ajax Amsterdam to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their UEFA Cup first round match yesterday.
Although Ajax dominated most of the first half, putting pressure on Maribor's 18year-old debutant goalkeeper Tomaz Murko, they were unable to convert their opportunities.
The Dutch fell behind two minutes into the second half when Nastja Ceh scored.
Ajax equalised with a close-range header by Finnish striker Jari Litmanen in the 66th minute.
