Liverpool unravelled by trickery of Aimar

Valencia 2 Liverpool 0: Hamann sent off as slick Valencia expose Houllier's pretensions

Tormented by Pablo Aimar and undermined by their own defensive disarray, Liverpool endured a torrid start to the Group B campaign here last night. Valencia, who have twice contested the Champions' League final in the past three years, scored twice during a Spanish inquisition which suggested that the Premiership may still lag some way behind La Liga.

Aimar and Ruben Baraja ensured that Liverpool conceded two goals for the fifth match running. A second-half makeover brought Michael Owen off the bench, but any faint hopes they had of clawing their way back were extinguished by the 77th-minute dismissal of Dietmar Hamann for a second bookable offence. The German had raised his hands to Mista after an innocuous brush with the Valencia substitute.

Gérard Houllier did not attempt to gloss over the chasm in quality. "I can't remember a European tie where we spent so long on the back foot," the Liverpool manager said. "Valencia were better than us and we needed to perform at a much higher level. We didn't show the true Liverpool tonight. The players are angry with themselves and that's a positive thing. We knew it would be the toughest game in the group, but the players feel they've let themselves down."

Hamann's red card completed a chastening evening for Houllier. The Frenchman, who had promised an attacking strategy, chose a peculiar way of showing it by again leaving Owen on the bench. He also omitted Milan Baros, who had scored twice at Bolton on Saturday. When the England striker did emerge, his team conspicuously went up a gear, yet they could not allay the impression that the champions of Spain had outplayed them. Houllier may have doubts about Owen's sharpness after his World Cup exertions but his relative inactivity, less than a month before England's opening Euro 2000 qualifier, is a potential snag for Sven Goran Eriksson and a mini-crisis for the player who is, after all, European Footballer of the Year.

At the moment, however, Liverpool's more pressing concern is their porous rearguard. The composure of Stéphane Henchoz, who failed to recover from a calf strain, was sorely missed. Salif Diao initially retained his place alongside Sami Hyypia, a Senegalese-Finnish partnership with the task of stifling Valencia's Norwegian-Argentinian duo of John Carew and Aimar, but was replaced after a fraught first half.

Liverpool seldom came to grips with the Valencia forwards' contrasting styles. The 6ft 5in Carew is an orthodox target man, Aimar a diminutive figure who operates just off the front. During an opening period in which the home side dominated possession, the latter's darting runs and close control provoked several heavy challenges.

Aimar retaliated in the most positive way possible in the 19th minute. The powerhouse pairing in Rafael Benitez's midfield, Baraja and David Albelda, combined sweetly to release him in the inside-right channel. From just outside the six-yard area, the South American drove his shot across Jerzy Dudek into the far corner.

Hamann promptly fouled Aimar and was booked. Half an hour elapsed before Liverpool mounted a response, Jamie Carragher's pass enabling Emile Heskey to round Santiago Canizares, only for his shot to pass just wide from a tight angle.

Liverpool were again carved open as Valencia doubled their lead after 37 minutes. A long ball was laid off in midfield by Carew to Baraja, who was allowed to run unchallenged at the heart of the defence before burying a low drive beyond Dudek from 20 yards.

Owen duly joined the fray after half-time in place of El Hadji Diouf and Liverpool began to play with greater purpose. A slick build-up featuring first-time passes by Carragher and Owen led to Danny Murphy finally forcing a save from Canizares in the 51st minute.

Liverpool came closest to halving the deficit with 23 minutes remaining. Hamann's long-range free-kick deflected off a defender to Bruno Cheyrou and the substitute's free shot from 10 yards gave Canizares a chance to show his class. But the damage had been done. Despite a late penalty appeal for what looked a clear foul on Owen by Curro Torres, Hamann's exit guaranteed there was no way back.

Valencia (4-4-1-1): Cañizares; Curro Torres, Ayala, Pellegrino, Carboni; Albelda (De Los Santos, 83), Rufete (Angulo, 74), Baraja, Vicente; Aimar (Mista, 71); Carew. Substitutes not used: Salva Balesta, Sanchez, Marchena, Palop (gk).

Liverpool (4-4-2): Dudek; Carragher, Diao (Cheyrou, h-t), Hyypia, Traoré; Murphy (Baros, 76), Gerrard, Hamann, Riise; Diouf (Owen, h-t), Heskey. Substitutes not used: Babbel, Berger, Biscan, Kirkland (gk).

Referee: H Fandel (Germany).