Houllier praises vanquished Spartak

Liverpool FC coach Gérard Houllier was full of praise for the opposition after his side were made to work for their 3-1 UEFA Champions League victory over FC Spartak Moskva in Moscow.

'Tricky team'
Michael Owen's hat-trick ultimately handed the visitors three precious points in their bid to qualify from Group B - and ended Spartak's hopes of progressing - but Houllier said: "Spartak surprised us - they have talented young players - just give them some time. [Vladimir] Beschastnykh had an interesting midfield role and [Alexandr] Pavlenko is very good. They are are a tricky team with skilful players who know how to use the ball. If we'd let them play their game we'd have had problems.

'Great professionalism'
"Spartak started very strongly. They had nothing to lose and fully deserved the first goal, but we never let our heads drop. In the second half we were much better, we took our chances and showed great professionalism. We were patient, played our game and waited for our chances."

Tough mission
Following their 5-0 victory over the Russian side in the reverse fixture three weeks ago, Liverpool travelled to Moscow as firm favourites. However, their task seemed a tough one as no English side had ever beaten Spartak on home soil in European competition. That impressive record was destroyed in emphatic style as Owen showed once more why he is held in such high esteem.

Goal poacher
His first, a clever downward header from Jamie Carragher's delicious cross showed his aerial ability, before two close-range finishes in the second period only served to enhance his reputation as a natural goal poacher.

'Owen deserves credit'
Owen, who scored just once in Liverpool's first ten games this season, has now found the net seven times in his last five matches in all competitions and Houllier added: "Michael Owen deserves special credit. I remember he was getting a lot of stick for not scoring - but he scores important goals."

Spartak mistakes
Spartak's assistant coach, Viktor Samokhin, whose team had been lifted by Alexandr Danishevski's surprise opener, was less than enamoured by the home side's performance. "The first goal was Yuri Kovtun's fault," he said. "And there were mistakes made in Liverpool's second and third goals too."

'Defensive problems'
But Samokhin was impressed by Liverpool's approach and added: "They just waited for our mistakes as they knew Spartak had problems in defence and they exploited them."

Improved performance
Spartak must now regroup and concentrate on domestic matters as they bid to secure a place in the Champions League next term. For Liverpool, their fans had demanded an improved performance, and with Owen at the helm, that is exactly what they got tonight.