Tord Grip

Liverpool v CSKA Sofia


England Assistant Coach Tord Grip was at Anfield last night to see Liverpool face CSKA Sofia - and in the absence of Steven Gerrard another Englishman took centre stage.

Stephen Warnock played for Liverpool as they made it into the Champions League proper last night - and then agreed a new contract.

The former England youth defender, now aged 23, put pen to paper on a two-year deal immediately after Liverpool lost 1-0 at home to CSKA Sofia in front of Sven-Goran Eriksson’s assistant.

The result was enough to see Liverpool win through 3-2 on aggregate and means the European champions will be in tomorrow’s main draw for the Champions League group stage.

It wasn’t the best of nights, however, for Anfield fans - who saw their team line up without England stars Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.

The Reds missed a host of chances, notably through Djibril Cisse, and lost on the night when Valentin Iliev beat England Under-21 goalkeeper Scott Carson who had impressed as deputy for Jose Reina.

But defender Warnock, who was substituted after 64 minutes, still had something to celebrate at the end of the night when his contract was finalised.

The left-sided player, who can also play in midfield, broke into Rafael Benitez’s first team plans last season and made 29 appearances for the club. This season he has taken advantage of an injury to Djimi Traore to make the left-back position his own.