Reds through by the skin of their teeth

Liverpool scraped through to the knockout stages of the Europa League last night after suffering a late scare. During injury time, when Jordan Henderson's solitary strike seemed enough for the Reds to progress, Di Natale went worryingly close for Udinese, firing inches over the bar with the last kick of the match, to the relief of Rodgers' side. Had he scored, Liverpool would have been out of Europe.

As it was, Henderson's first European goal secured top spot in the group for Liverpool, as they qualified alongside Anzhi Makhachkala, despite the Russian side's 3-1 defeat to Swiss side Young Boys. Overall, the Merseysiders' display warranted their third win in Italy and a place in the next round of the Europa League, although manager Brendan Rodgers will be disappointed that the Reds didn't manage to get the job done with a game to spare.

Five changes were made to the line-up, as Luis Suarez started up front, Henderson joined Allen and Sahin in the middle and Enrique swapped positions with Downing, the former reverting to left back while the latter returned to his usual left wing position. For Udinese, Danielle Padelli, literally a one-time Liverpool player, started in goal. His sole appearance for the Reds came in Robbie Fowler's final match at Anfield, as the hosts drew 2-2 with Charlton Athletic in 2007.

Only 11 minutes in, though, the away side were forced into a change, as a blow to Nuri Sahin's nose meant he was replaced by Jonjo Shelvey, who had hoped to rest in order to remain fresh for Sunday's visit to Upton Park. Shelvey was then involved in the build-up to the opener on 23 minutes.

Suarez drilled a free kick into the wall after Heurtaux had fouled Shelvey. Downing's resulting corner was headed on by Suarez to Suso. The Spaniard laid the ball off to Henderson, who swept home to give Liverpool the all-important first goal.

Hen party! The Reds' number 14 celebrates scoring in Italy

Liverpool grew in confidence and almost doubled their lead only four minutes later when a skillful passing move culminated in Johnson turning home Downing's cross. Unfortunately, the Reds were denied by the linesman's offside flag.

The visitors had two further chances to add to their advantage before the break and, almost inevitably, they both fell to Luis Suarez. First, his optimistic effort flew off target when he should have looked up and squared to either Shelvey or Downing, who were both in better positions close by. Then, his stunning overhead kick from close range was denied the goal it deserved by a fantastic stop from Padelli.

With Young Boys and Anzhi drawing 1-1 in Switzerland, Liverpool occupied second place in Group A during the interval. They knew, though, that a single Udinese goal would see them plummet down to third in the group and crash out of European competition.

The temptation may have been to play it safe and try and close out the match. Thankfully, in the second half Liverpool managed to find the right balance between keeping a clean sheet and pushing forward to try and put the outcome of the contest beyond doubt.

In pursuit of that second goal, Suso squandered a good early chance, disappointingly firing wide when he really should have at least tested the keeper. However, there's no guarantees he would have scored considering the form Padelli was in. On 65 minutes he magnificently stopped Henderson's exceptional volley finding the back of the net. Soon after, he made a great save to deny Suarez after he'd jinked past several Udinese defenders, as Liverpool began to wonder whether they'd make a mistake in letting the keeper leave in 2007!

The Reds' cause was seemingly further helped when Pasquale was sent off ten minutes from time after earning two yellow cards for poor challenges on Suso. However, from that point on Liverpool began to retreat and defend what they'd secured. Their strategy appeared successful, until Enrique foolishly and needlessly gave away a free kick with only a minute left of injury time.

Although the set piece was cleared, the ball found its way back to the dangerous Di Natale, Udinese's star striker who had been sent on with five minutes to go to try and break Scouse hearts. He was inches away from doing so, as, with the last kick of the match, he smashed a volley just over the bar.

Too close for comfort- Di Natale almost broke Red hearts

Fortunately, Liverpool enjoyed that little bit of good fortune that was missing earlier on in the campaign, which may be a sign that their season is beginning to turn around. With Young Boys eventually beating Anzhi 3-1, Liverpool finished top of the group on 10 points. That means they will face one of the four lower ranked Champions League drop-outs or a Europa League group stage runner up. The second leg of their last 32 tie will also be at Anfield.

With European competition now finished until February, Liverpool can concentrate on domestic football and picking up crucial points that will push them up the Premier League table over Christmas. Let's hope they enjoy some more comfortable victories than this one over the holiday season.

YNWA