When fortune favoured Marseille Liverpool's players hang their heads Liverpool's traumatic season has a new nadir. "Today this referee delivered a huge blow to this club. Michael Owen needs a scan on his suspect hamstring, the all too familiar memory of previous fitness worries hanging heavy over the striker once again and his withdrawal from Sven-Goran Eriksson's squad for next week's friendly in Sweden guaranteed. "We don't think we've been beaten fairly," added Houllier, whose focus must now be on salvaging Champions League qualification. ",Didier Drogba thumped home the spot-kick, with Biscan still distraught in the dug-out, but the visitors' momentum had been lost for good. You can either play advantage or not. "I said then that it is not players who get you the sack but referees," he growled. Liverpool had established an advantage and appeared so unflustered that frustration had been welling among the home fans. His goals earned them a first league title in over five decades as well as their first European Cup title.A cup final specialist, Drogba made it a habit of scoring in major showcase events.

I don't think he would have given it the other way around. Left battered and beaten in the Bouches-du-Rhône, Gérard Houllier departed the Uefa Cup last night apoplectic at alleged injustice, an "outrageous" penalty award nagging at his soul.The misery will be dragged back to Merseyside today. ".Half-time was approaching when Liverpool's world imploded. ",The timing of the goal was pivotal. Fiche technique, feuille du match Marseille 2-1 Liverpool (Coupe de l'UEFA - 2003/2004) "Not one of their players even claimed the penalty, so they were as surprised as we were," said Houllier. Sami Hyypia had seen Manuel Dos Santos clear a header from the goal-line but the Finn was left cursing at his panicked concession of a corner. Harry Kewell won possession and found Steven Gerrard, whose delicious pass was collected by Emile Heskey. Since leaving Stamford Bridge, he’s played in four different countries, including second-tier American side Phoenix Rising where he has part-ownership.The former Fulham forward joined Marseille on loan ahead of their Uefa Cup final season; on arrival, he struck up a neat tandem with Drogba and the 23-time Les Bleus international managed nine goals across 23 outings. Yet all that composure was eroded in the blink of an eye, with the subsequent reorganisation anchoring Gerrard virtually at right-back.Thereafter Marseille marauded forward with increased belief and the decisive goal came just before the hour. "There was a pull but it was made some three or four yards outside the box," said Houllier, who made a beeline for the stadium's video room at the interval to scrutinise an award which had left him livid. Olympique de Marseille returned to the UEFA Champions League for the first time in four years, and in spite of going out in the group stage, the side made headlines in the UEFA Cup, knocking Liverpool, Internazionale and Newcastle United out on the way to the final, where the sending off of goalkeeper Fabien Barthez and the converted penalty kick from Valencia 's Vicente saw Valencia eventually edge … After being dumped into the competition, finishing third in a Champions League group consisting Real Madrid and eventual champions FC Porto, they enjoyed an impressive run which included wins over Liverpool, Inter Milan and Newcastle United.In all but one of the six games Marseille scored, feared marksman Didier Drogba found the net, it was this run that convinced Chelsea to part with a record £24m for his signature. Only a fourth-place finish can transform their season. The England striker, ignored by Brahim Hemdani and Abdoulaye Meite, appeared to dawdle as he bore down on Fabien Barthez but, with the loanee committed and prone, he recovered to ram the loose ball low and into the corner.It was Heskey's first goal since the FA Cup tie at Yeovil on January 4 and Danny Murphy, lobbing a shot on to the roof of the net, might have added to that and ensured Liverpool enjoyed something of a stroll.

If Marlet had scored, would he have disallowed it? It may not have come to that yet at Anfield but reality is troubling.