Liverpool went into the second leg of their Europa League round-of-32 clash with Zenit St Petersburg looking to overturn a two-goal deficit from the previous leg.
The Reds looked dead and buried when Hulk capitalised on a howler from Jamie Carragher and put the visitors in front, but strikes from Luis Suarez and Joe Allen gave them a fighting chance at half time.
A superb free kick from Suarez made it 3-1 on the night and set up a dramatic finish, but a fourth goal proved a bridge too far for Brendan Rodgers's side.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the action to establish whether it was a fair result.
Match statistics:
Liverpool:
Shots 18
On target 12
Possession 56%
Corners 11
Fouls 11
Zenit:
Shots 10
On target 5
Possession 41%
Corners 2
Fouls 13
Was the result fair?
Liverpool will feel hard done by bowing out of the competition, and rightly so. They were the superior team this evening by a considerable distance and showed great spirit to push their opponents to the bitter end after falling three goals behind.
Liverpool's performance
The Reds put in what is arguably one of their best performances under Rodgers, a display that was marred only by a moment of madness from Carragher. The Reds played some high-octane football and dominated Zenit for much of the duration. While the veteran defender's error did cost them dearly, it's unfair to put all of the blame on his shoulders considering Liverpool were already trailing 2-0 from the previous leg.
Zenit's performance
Below-par. The Russians were scrappy at the back, giving away countless free kicks and defending them poorly. They were gifted the opening goal and barely threatened all evening after going in front. They can consider themselves very fortunate to still be in the competition.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Luis Suarez: Where would Liverpool be without this man? I'll tell you where, in the lower reaches of the Premier League. The Uruguayan put in a stellar performance, putting the Zenit rear guard under constant pressure and delivering a masterclass in free kick taking.
Biggest gaffe
It goes without saying that Carragher's error in the first period was the biggest gaffe of the evening. The veteran defender delivered the ball on a plate for Hulk to give Zenit the lead, an incident that made his 150th European appearance one to forget.
Referee's performance
Bjorn Kuipers generally kept a lid on things, but he wasn't exactly eagle-eyed, and neither were his linesmen. Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty in the first half when Tomas Hubocan handled in the box, and Suarez should have been disciplined in the second for stamping on Hubocan. Perhaps both incidents going unpunished meant justice was served, in a way.
What next?
Liverpool: Liverpool take on Wigan Athletic away from home on March 2.
Zenit: The Russian side are still in the middle of their winter break domestically, but will face Swiss outfit FC Basel in the last-16 of the Europa League after edging past Liverpool.
Mark Langshaw
