Shining Riise and buoyant Baros keep chance alive

Champions' League: Houllier rues record number of lost opportunities while Arsenal tap their rich scoring vein

The men of Basle hugged themselves in exultation and the club's mandarins reacted similarly in the directors' box. Meanwhile Liverpool's manager, Gérard Houllier, could only clutch his head as the Anfield faithful drifted dejectedly away.

It was not so much a gesture of disappointment, more sheer bemusement that his team had failed to overcome the Swiss champions in Wednesday night's Champions' League contest. A 1-1 draw was scarcely what a team comprising Liverpool's rich reserves of personnel should have garnered as hosts to Christian Gross's side, who reflected strictly limited ambition.

"We had 27 shots at goal, 16 on target," Houllier declared after training on Friday. "I believe that's a Champions' League record. No team have had more than 25 in the last two years."

Such statistics are as much an indictment of Liverpool's profligacy as they are the basis of optimism as they prepare for Wednesday's home game with Spartak Moscow. But a further breakdown of those figures would have revealed that a healthy proportion of those attempts were propelled by the feet and head of his midfield quartet and defenders.

At a time when Michael Owen and Emile Heskey are struggling to assert their penalty-box dominance, it is significant that Danny Murphy and John Arne Riise are challenging striker Milan Baros for leading goalscoring honours.

"Usually the scoring percentage is 60-40 or 65-35 in favour of the strikers, but last season we relied too much on them. I wanted more contribution from our midfielders. Murphy, [Steven] Gerrard, [Patrik] Berger and Riise, when he plays in midfield, can all score. This season they are doing that."

Riise doesn't fare badly from left-back, either. Against Basle, the Norwegian managed to strike the ball against the bar with goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbuhler's assistance, did so again unaided, and drove narrowly wide, all within the first seven minutes. The power in that left foot is phenomenal, and this was some shooting exhibition from a man who is capable of making a smooth transition from left-back to midfield and in one season has demonstrated that he is one of Houllier's most valuable acquisitions.

"I like him to play at left-back, or at what I call inside-left," said Houllier, when asked about the player's optimum position. "But he's not what I'd call a wide player." The manager recalled that the Norwegian was not yet 21 when he signed him from Monaco, but has matured and developed quickly. "Remember, he was 17 when he broke into a Norwegian team, was spotted and brought to Monaco, and won a championship with them at 18. When you do that, you can't be a bad player. He could have scored three against Basle and he can defend, too, and head the ball well. He has improved that side of his game."

The last occasion Liverpool met Spartak Moscow was a decade ago in the European Cup-Winners' Cup, when they were defeated both home and away, 2-0 and 4-2 respectively. Mark Wright and Steve McManaman scored the goals which ensured that the team who were then managed by Graeme Souness were not completely embarrassed.

A repeat on Wednesday and in the return on 22 October is unlikely. Spartak have already lost to Basle and Valen-cia. However, Houllier warned: "They have international players and, although they seem to be going through a bad spell at the moment, we will take nothing for granted. We need to win, and we will."

He added: "I enjoyed the game against Basle because I think that game, maybe like the one at home to Newcastle, was in football terms a good display. We just lacked goals. Baros could have scored a hat-trick." They didn't because in Zuber-buhler and defender Timothee Atouba Basle possessed the kind of player necessary to frustrate several thousand Anfield souls.

Fortunately, Baros exhibited the executioner's art that convinced Houllier to outlay £3.2m for the Banik Ostrava player at the end of last year. It was during Houllier's journey to Prague a year ago to meet Baros that the Liverpool manager stopped off in Paris for tests on his heart, having been suffering from exhaustion.

He never was to discuss the results, because within days his body gave its own verdict anyway when he was taken ill during the home match with Leeds. A lengthy convalescence meant that he was absent for much of Liverpool's first Champions' League season, although he maintained crucial contact with assistant Phil Thompson. "I was grateful to Phil and the team. They did a great job," he said. "Phil knew how important Europe was to me and was determined to have a team still in the competition when I came back. That was the case, because I came back for the Roma game [on 19 March]."

Houllier succeeded in signing Baros. Initially, he failed to assert himself, but the manager lost none of his belief. "I wanted to put him in the team at the right time," he said. "I've always believed in him, and it was just a question of time. He has sorted himself out in terms of his weight. And he is still young."

Last season, Liverpool only lasted until the quarter-finals, when they were eliminated by the eventual defeated finalists Bayer Leverkusen. This season, expectancy is all the greater. Though they have hardly made an auspicious start, Liverpool still retain a sound chance of qualifying for the second group stage. "We'll get stronger and stronger," Houllier promised. "It's still early in the season."