Liverpool moved a step closer to the group stages of the Champions League in Sofia on Wednesday night as Rafael Benitez's side produced another clbuttic European away performance to beat the Bulgarian champions 3-1.
A first-half strike from Djibril Cisse and one in each half for Fernando Morientes could prove absolutely priceless away goals for Rafael Benitez's side when the return leg at Anfield in a fortnight's time decides which one of these two teams ends up in the draw for the Champions League proper.
Benitez had warned on the eve of the game that CSKA Sofia would prove a far tougher test for the European Champions than either TNS or FBK Kaunas had in earlier qualifiers and his buttessment looked spot on as the Bulgarian title-holders immediately took the game to the visitors from the first whistle.
After a tense opening, when Pepe Reina had to be on his toes to guard his goal against speculative long-range strikes from Mourad Hdiouad and Ibrahima Gueye, Liverpool finally broke the deadlock after 24 minutes when Djibril Cisse raced onto a Steven Gerrard through-ball to slot his low shot through the legs of goalkeeper Evgheni Hmaruc.
With Milan Baros one of Liverpool's six substitutes on the night (Benitez didn't exercise his right to name seven players on the bench), it was left to Cisse's strike partner on the night, Fernando Morientes, to double the away side's lead after 30 minutes.
The former Real Madrid striker, desperate to taste Champions League football with Liverpool this season after being cup-tied for last season's glorious European adventure, rose well to head the ball beyond the reach of Hmaruc after a great free-kick from Gerrard.
With the game appearing to be won before the interval, a rare defensive momentary lapse in concentration proved costly as Velizar Dimitrov grabbed a headed goal right on the stroke of half-time. Coming, as it did, just seconds before the half-time whistle, the goal will have infuriated Benitez who was looking forward to a very different half-time team talk.
With a fresh impetus and belief that they could get something out of the match, Sofia came out the blocks for the second-half at a lightening pace but rarely threatened to finish the moves they started.
One long-range strike from Gueye, caught easily by Reina, was all they could muster before Morientes grabbed his second goal and Liverpool's third on the night to put the match beyond Sofia's reach.
Morientes, tipped before the game to come good for Liverpool after a slow start to his Anfield career, was lurking in the box with when Gerrard combined well with Cisse to feed the Spaniard who finished well from close range. While Morientes will no doubt grab the headlines in the newspapers on Thursday morning, it was Gerrard who ran the show, setting up all three goals.
What looked a potentially tricky fixture on paper in the end proved comfortable enough for Benitez to take off Gerrard, Xabi Alonso and Morientes in the second-half with Spanish 17-year-old Antonio Barragan becoming the club's youngest ever foreign player when he made is entrance with 11 minutes remaining.
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