Liverpool manager Roy Evans was disillusioned and hurt after seeing his side slump to a 3-0 defeat in Strasbourg last night. Shell-shocked Evans accepts that the buck stops with him as Liverpool's season begins to fall apart.

"It's the same old story, and it's driving me round the bend," groaned Evans. "I'm the man in charge, I make the decisions, but I can't go out there to kick the ball for them. But I accept that it all comes back to me."

Liverpool crashed to a 3-0 first leg defeat against Paris St Germain in the semi-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup last season and for Evans there was a strong sense of deja vu.

"I feel like I did in Paris last season. We did create more chances this time but you can't defend like that in Europe - you can't defend like that in any competition.

"That is what cost us the game, conceding goals like that. Tonight I feel very disillusioned.

"It's disappointing for me to lose games like that. It's frustrating and we all have to do some soul searching.

"I know they're better than that, and they do too. The heart is there but we have got to look at ourselves and try to find out where we have gone wrong as a team - we have to decide what is our best side."

Evans added: "The killer blows were the second and third goals. We were beginning to look like we had a lifeline after creating a couple of chances of our own."

Strasbourg coach Jacky Dugueperoux said: "I didn't think Liverpool were a weak side, but I was surprised by my team. We seem to play differently in the league to our European form.

"But Liverpool's side did surprise me. I expected them to play Michael Owen up front with Robbie Fowler. I changed my own tactics as soon as I knew that wasn't the case."