Houllier blasts record buys

Heskey, the club's record signing at £11m, and Senegal star Diouf, who arrived at Anfield for £10m following his exploits in the 2002 World Cup, were singled out by Houllier after the Reds let slip an all-important 2-1 lead at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Houllier said: "When we were 2-1 up we should have killed the game off but El-Hadji Diouf missed a great chance and should have scored.

"Then at the end Emile had a chance to run the ball down the line but he wasn't practical, then lost the ball and they scored."