The result apart, however, there were positives for Benítez to take from an absorbing encounter that could have finished 4-4, not least the performances of Cissé and Luis García, who were paired together in attack for the first time this season and, although they were hasty in front of goal, were a handful all evening.
García, in particular, was a constant thorn in Anderlecht’s side, but it was Cissé for whom Benítez reserved special mention.
Whether the France forward will be a Liverpool player come the end of January remains to be seen but, while he has not always enjoyed the confidence of his manager and has expressed doubts about his future at a club that seems to value Peter Crouch and Fernando Morientes above him, for the second match running the colourful front man gave Benítez every reason to be grateful to him.
Having scored the winner in the 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers at the weekend, Cissé again proved his team’s saviour with his ninth goal in 17 appearances this season. “He has done a good job and scored another important goal,” Benítez said. “He gives us pace, he is a good finisher and it was nice to see him and Luis creating lots of opportunities.”
Benítez had hinted that Morientes would start but, rather than take a risk on a player who has yet to regain his match fitness after recovering from a hamstring injury, the manager opted instead to play García behind Cissé, with Mohamed Sissoko filling in on the right side of midfield.
That meant a place on the bench for Crouch for the first time in ten matches but, within 20 minutes, Benítez’s decision was vindicated. Dietmar Hamann floated in a corner that eluded a flurry of Anderlecht defenders but not Cissé, who, by scoring with a crisp volley that left Silvio Proto no chance, managed to do what Crouch has not in 16½ hours of football for Liverpool and England.
Anderlecht had started brightly enough and certainly did not resemble a team shorn of confidence after a record nine successive Champions League defeats. Barely two minutes had elapsed when Bart Goor collected Christian Wilhelmsson’s pinpoint pass after capitalising on a moment’s hesitancy from Sami Hyypia. Fortunately for the Finland defender, who was making his 53rd successive appearance for Liverpool in Europe, José Manuel Reina was more alert and raced off his line athletically to deny Goor with his feet.
Liverpool had spent less time — 42 minutes — in possession than any of the 32 Champions League teams after the first two matches of the competition and, perhaps aware that they were doing little to change that statistic during the opening exchanges, they sprang into life in the thirteenth minute.
John Arne Riise nipped behind Anthony Vanden Borre and squared the ball for García from the left byline, but the Spaniard lashed a wild first-time shot from 12 yards over the bar. The glaring miss served only to strengthen the forward’s resolve, though, and with Xabi Alonso and Hamann pulling the midfield strings in the absence of the injured Steven Gerrard, Liverpool looked lively and dangerous.
Riise brought the small army of Liverpool fans huddled in one corner of the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium to their feet when his right-foot drive was tipped around a post by Proto before Djimi Traoré, on a rare venture forward, brought another fine save from the Anderlecht goalkeeper after latching on to García’s flick from Hamann’s corner.
Anderlecht are second in Belgium’s Jupiler League for good reason, however, and having shown Liverpool to be susceptible on the counter-attack, the hosts squandered a series of good chances to draw level.
A swift interchange between Wilhelmsson and Mbo Mpenza gifted Goor an inviting opportunity but, with only Reina to beat, the midfield player fired high and wide. The Spanish goalkeeper next thwarted Vanden Borre from close range.
Cissé should have put the match beyond reach when clean through on goal from Riise’s acute pass but dragged a weak effort wide. Benítez may be smiling now, but tougher challenges lie ahead.