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French teen sparks Liverpool spree
LIVERPOOL, England -- French teenager Anthony Le Tallec marked his first Anfield start with a goal as Liverpool eased into the UEFA Cup second round at the expense of Slovenia's Olimpija Ljubljana. It was an equally memorable night for Steven Gerrard, who put in a commanding midfield display on his first outing as captain as Liverpool won 3-0, 4-1 on aggregate. Le Tallec, 18, had only made his full Liverpool debut in the away leg but showed few signs of nerves at Anfield. After twice presenting Emile Heskey with good chances to put Liverpool ahead, the young Frenchman did the job himself in the 30th minute after Olimpija's otherwise impressive goalkeeper Borut Mavric spilled El Hadji Diouf's cross from the right. Le Tallec confidently side-footed home his first goal in English football to settle the nerves of a crowd that was just beginning to get impatient with their side's failure to turn territorial domination into a clear lead after a 1-1 draw in the first leg. Olimpija had clearly travelled with a strategy of looking to contain their hosts in the hope of snatching a goal on the break. And it had nearly paid off inside ten minutes when Igor Biscan conceded possession, allowing Mladen Rudonja to break. Fortunately for Liverpool, Rudonja's overhit pass left lone striker Nedim Jusurbegovic at an acute angle although his drive still drew a good save from Jerzy Dudek. That was to prove Olimpija's best chance of the night and it was no surprise when Heskey finished off a sweeping one-touch move to put Liverpool two ahead in the 37th minute. Harry Kewell put the tie beyond doubt within two minutes of the restart, slotting home Heskey's low cross to the back post after a move the Australian winger had himself started. Premier League rivals Blackburn were left to rue a string of missed first half chances as Turkish side Genclerbirligi dumped them out. With a 3-1 deficit to make up from the first leg, Blackburn were always facing an uphill struggle but they might have come much closer to making a fight of it if Matt Jansen had not blasted wide from 10 yards after only four minutes. Jansen finally hit the net in the 65th minute, following up after his first shot was parried by Damir Botonjic But Blackburn threw their lead away inside a minute when Steven Reid carelessly conceded possession in his own area, allowing Mustafa Ozkan to fire a low shot underneath the sprawling Brad Friedel. A controversial penalty from Nicolas Anelka was enough to see Manchester City cruise past Lokeren in the second leg of their first round tie with a 1-0 victory -- winning 4-2 on aggregate. Southampton's European adventure came to a depressing end in the pouring rain in Romania where a late goal from Claudiu Raducanu gave Steaua Bucharest a 1-0 victory and a place in the next round. With Gordon Strachan's Premiership side having conceded an 'away' goal in a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the first round clash two weeks ago, Southampton were forced to press throughout and, as time ticked away, they were caught with a classic sucker punch.
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