UEFA Cup third round, first leg: Liverpool 2; Levski Sofia 0: The mutiny has been quelled, if only for now. Where Merseyside briefly threatened revolt last night, Gerard Houllier found relief as Liverpool, their nerves jangling for over an hour, momentarily pierced a season of gloom.
While next week's return in Bulgaria will represent another dicey obstacle in a troubled campaign, even the most vehement Houllier critic will be confident that the fourth round beckons.
When it mattered, the Frenchman's key players - the excellent Steven Gerrard and Harry Kewell, emerging from inconsistency - proved their quality.
There was a surprisingly upbeat pre-match feel to this occasion, perhaps born of a grim assumption that things simply could not get any worse.
The rumoured demonstration had stalled, frozen as the chill descended. Those banners that had been sneaked into the arena were more complimentary than defamatory, with most present relieved that the team selection was back to the tried and trusted just when Liverpool desperately needed to summon a performance brimming with panache.
For all that underlying intent, it took 35 minutes for the pleading chants of "attack, attack, attack" to go up on the Kop for the first time.
It was not that Liverpool were lacklustre, more that they lacked the wit in pivotal areas to prise open obdurate opponents.
Levski displayed limited ambition if not limited ability, their elegant midfielder Konstantin Golovskoj as imposing a presence in the centre as the irrepressible Gerrard.
Swamped by a sea of blue shirts, Liverpool sank with the mood. Milan Baros's early energy - the Czech was making his first start since breaking his leg at Blackburn in September and looked intent on making up for lost time - caused the visitors initial discomfort, the bustling striker crumpling under Ilian Stoyanov's challenge, only for Rene Temmink to wave away the justified penalty claims.
Such is Liverpool's luck these days.
Baros, all too aware of Sami Hyypia's presence at his side, picked himself up to nod Danny Murphy's corner wide with Dimitar Ivankov flailing.
Indeed, Liverpool's corners offered rare promise of reward given the goalkeeper's clear terror whenever a cross could be whipped into his six-yard box.
Hyypia might have converted Gerrard's centre; fractionally off the pace, the Finn instead watched the cross fizz behind.
Houllier has taken to wearing a haunted look on the touchline in recent weeks and was soon tentatively prowling his technical area, ears pricked for any sign of discontent.
None came, though frustration was welling up.
Golovskoj's drilled shot had to be tipped behind by Chris Kirkland and, even if that was the Bulgarians' only first-half effort of note, the absence of a breakthrough at the other end was starting to grate.
When Michael Owen wriggled into a yard of space but flicked Kewell's cross over the bar just before the interval, the howls rang out.
The miss was indicative of the apprehension creeping through home ranks, though the urgency was rekindled in the break. Murphy's looping cross was ignored mystifyingly by Levski's defence for Owen to nod down and Ivankov to produce a timely save.
That set a more promising tone, with Gerrard and Dietmar Hamann combining to send Owen sprinting through the centre only for Ivankov's presence to prompt the England striker to chip his attempt wide. When Owen battered a shot from distance, the Bulgarian sprawled to catch.
The theme was becoming monotonous until Gerrard - who else? - conjured a breakthrough.
Kewell and Steve Finnan combined at a short corner, Asen Bukarev nodded the loose ball out of the area and the Liverpool captain crunched a left-footed volley through the muddle and into the corner.
The captain's reaction was to tear to the manager and Houllier was lost in a bear-hug on the touchline.
The relief was tangible with Levski critically undermined. Another short corner three minutes later offered Kewell space on the corner of the box to curl a shot over the panicked rearguard in the centre and over Ivankov, too.
Anfield breathed again.
LIVERPOOL: Kirkland, Finnan, Henchoz, Hyypia, Carragher, Murphy, Gerrard, Hamann, Kewell (Diouf 85), Owen, Baros (Cheyrou 90). Subs not used: Dudek, Le Tallec, Traore, Biscan, Welsh. Goals: Gerrard 67, Kewell 70.
LEVSKI SOFIA: Ivankov, Wagner, Markov, Stoyanov, Topuzakov, Temile (Telkiyski 71), Bukarev, Golovskoy, Borimirov (Stankov 76), Vidolov (Chilikov 71), Georgi Ivanov. Subs not used: Petkov, Biser Ivanov, Simonovic, Stanislav Angelov. Booked: Golovskoy, Markov, Borimirov.
Referee: Rene Temmink (Holland)
