• Europa League round-up

Listless Liverpool escape with draw in Prague

Joe Cole came on as a first-half substitute for Liverpool © PA Photos

Enlarge

Related Links

• News: Broughton to sue former Liverpool owners
  
• News: Cole still in Dalglish's plans
  
• News: Enrique willing to listen to potential Liverpool offer
  

Gallery

Kenny Dalglish's first European match in charge of Liverpool was a forgettable one, with the Reds held to a 0-0 draw in the Europa League last 32, first-leg tie at Sparta Prague.

While Liverpool had the majority of possession, their failure to find a cutting edge will be a source of concern to Dalglish.

Playing in a competition that represents their last chance to salvage some silverware from a difficult season, Liverpool's performance was reminiscent of their darkest days under Hodgson, when caution came before enterprise.

Although much of the pre-match speculation focused on the possible involvement of 16-year-old Raheem Sterling, who would have become Liverpool's youngest player, Dalglish took the striker out of the firing line by not including him in the matchday squad.

Those who did appear in the starting XI made an assured start, monopolising possession across the first 20 minutes with a series of risk-free passes that never threatened the Sparta Prague defence. Liverpool were nearly punished for their caution when the Czech side, making a rare foray forward, forced Pepe Reina into a sprawling save after Manuel Pamic's fierce drive.

The toothless nature of Liverpool's use of the ball prompted Dalglish to remove Fabio Aurelio, surprisingly deployed in central midfield, and introduce Joe Cole. But it was Sparta who carried the greater cutting edge, and Marek Matejovsky was unfortunate to see his goalbound shot blocked by Soti Kyrgiakos.

In the absence of Luis Suarez, it was painfully obvious that the Anfield club were missing Fernando Torres, with David Ngog making little impression as the spearhead of the attack during a first half in which he didn't have a sniff of goal. The most entertaining aspect of a forgettable opening period was Tomas Repka, whose ferocious defending was operating on the fringes of legality.

If Dalglish read the riot act to his players at half-time, it wasn't immediately apparent as the second 45 started in the same subdued fashion as the first. It took until the 70th minute for Liverpool to fashion a chance, with Glen Johnson surging into the area before poking the ball wide when pressurised 10 yards out.

Liverpool were indebted to Reina when, 15 minutes from time, the Spanish keeper kept out a close-range piledriver from Leonard Kweuke. The Reds' mentality was summed up by Dalglish's 83rd-minute substitution, when Ngog was replaced by centre back Martin Skrtel. They didn't have a shot on target across the 90 minutes, and will need to show more attacking intent when the sides meet at Anfield next week.

Rangers were denied at the death by Matias Fernandez © PA Photos

Enlarge

Rangers were dealt a blow when Matias Fernandez grabbed a late leveller to deny them victory over Sporting Lisbon, who left Ibrox with a 1-1 draw. Steven Whittaker - who netted a superb goal against the same team en route to the UEFA Cup final three years ago - was on the scoresheet again but it was not enough to claim victory. The tie now hangs in the balance ahead of next week's second leg in Lisbon.

Substitute Fredy Guarin netted a late winner to put Porto in pole position in their tie with Iberian rivals Sevilla. Guarin capitalised on a defensive mix-up five minutes from time to give Porto a potentially crucial advantage to take back to Portugal for the return leg. Earlier, Porto had taken the lead through Jorge Rolando in the 59th minute but that was cancelled out by a Frederic Kanoute header seven minutes later.

Benfica scored twice in the final 20 minutes to overturn an early deficit against Stuttgart and earn a narrow 2-1 lead to take to Germany. Stuttgart, putting aside their domestic worries where they are stuck in the bottom two of the Bundesliga and four points adrift of safety, looked on course for a possible upset when they took the lead in the 21st minute through Martin Harnik. However, Benfica stormed back in the second half and Oscar Cardozo drew the hosts level in the 70th minute before Franco Jara added a second nine minutes from time.

PSV Eindhoven stunned Lille with two goals in a minute to salvage a 2-2 draw in a battle of two table-topping sides. The Ligue 1 leaders went ahead through Idrissa Gueye after six minutes when Andreas Isaksson failed to deal with a corner, then Tulio De Melo doubled the lead just after the half-hour mark. Having offered little for most of the game, PSV then struck back with two goals seemingly from nowhere - Wilfred Bouma netting in the 84th minute and Ola Toivonen completing the comeback 64 seconds later.

Napoli, second in Serie A, were left frustrated after a 0-0 draw with Villarreal, whose defensive tactics achieved the desired result, while Christian Eriksen inspired Ajax to a deceptively emphatic 3-0 victory at Anderlecht.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.