Kaiserslautern 3 Liverpool 2: Aurelio and Pennant leave mixed emotions

Liverpool succumbed to a late winner against a side from Germany's second division but more unpredictably they ended the match with their goalkeeper, Jose Reina, playing in midfield. An injury to Luis Garcia forced manager Rafael Benitez to press Reina into an unfamiliar position with 11 minutes left. Reina twice came close to scoring but Kaiserslautern won with Marcel Ziemer's 87th-minute strike.

Benitez revealed he took Garcia off as a precaution and was more concerned by an injury to his new Brazilian defender, Fabio Aurelio, who could face several weeks on the sidelines with a calf injury.

Benitez said: "Luis had a problem with his neck and we decided the best thing would be to take him off. Fabio felt something in his calf and I think it's a more serious problem than Luis."

More pleasing for Liverpool's manager was an impressive debut from Jermaine Pennant but it was the German side who went in front after 56 minutes through Ricardo Villar. Craig Bellamy scored on the hour andGarcia shot Liverpool in front after 67 minutes. Ziemer equalised four minutes later and had the final say, getting behind the Liverpool defence and lifting his shot above Jerzy Dudek.