Liverpool’s passing promised a comfortable evening. Their finishing kept Monaco in the match.
Rafael Benítez’s side opened the Champions League group stage at Anfield on 15 September 2004 against the previous season’s beaten finalists. They won 2–0, but the second goal did not arrive until six minutes from time, when substitute Milan Baroš finally removed the possibility of an equaliser.
Benítez selected Xabi Alonso alongside Steven Gerrard in central midfield, with Dietmar Hamann on the bench. Alonso’s distribution helped Liverpool move the ball across the pitch, while Luis García found space between Monaco’s defenders and midfielders.
The breakthrough reflected that combination of passing and movement. After a foul on García, Alonso moved the free-kick to Gerrard. The captain exchanged passes with García and released Djibril Cissé, who drove his shot past Flavio Roma in the 22nd minute.
García continued to trouble Monaco, threatening with both shots and headers before the interval. Yet Liverpool reached half-time with only Cissé’s goal separating the teams.
Monaco changed their shape at the break, adding a forward and moving to 4–4–2. Liverpool still created chances, but Roma denied Cissé and the visitors gradually gained more possession. Jerzy Dudek had to save an Emmanuel Adebayor header as the match became less secure than Liverpool’s earlier football had suggested.
Baroš replaced Cissé in the 69th minute. His decisive contribution came from Josemi’s long ball: he gathered possession outside the penalty area, worked his way into the box and finished past Roma from a tight angle.
Liverpool had made the better openings and spent substantial periods in control. What they lacked was an early second goal. Baroš supplied it late enough to end Monaco’s recovery and secure three points from Benítez’s first Champions League group match as Liverpool manager.