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Liverpool fans could be forgiven for losing faith in their struggling side, for whom defeat at Lyon spells Champions League disaster.

Rafa Benitez's side have lost six of their last seven matches, are without their skipper Steven Gerrard, have a half-fit Fernando Torres and were beaten at home by the French side two weeks ago.

Things might look bleak, but below are five moments from Benitez's tenure that suggest the Reds have a charmed life in the Champions League - and why their supporters should live in hope of another great escape.

Gerrard's thunderbolt - December 2004: Group stage - Liverpool 3-1 Olympiakos

A stuttering group stage campaign left Liverpool needing to beat the Greeks by two goals to avoid an early exit, and Rivaldo's brilliant first-half free-kick left them staring disaster in the face. Florent Sinama-Pongolle levelled early in the second half, but they still needed two in the last 10 minutes. Neil Mellor walloped in a rebound to set up a grandstand finish, and Steven Gerrard sent the Reds through with an extravagant 22-yard half-volley that was bettered only by Andy Gray's over-the-top reaction: "Ooooohhhhh, you beauty!! What a hit son!" To be fair, it was a decent strike.

The goal that never was - May 2005: Semi-final second leg - Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea (1-0 on aggregate)

Benitez's side squeaked through a tight last-four encounter that, as Jose Mourinho would no doubt claim, contained no goals in 180 minutes of play. The one that counted was a highly controversial effort, bundled goalwards by Luis Garcia in the fourth minute. William Gallas appeared to clear the ball off the line, but referee Lubos Michel awarded the goal. Mourinho described it as "a goal that came from the moon", perhaps forgetting that seconds earlier Petr Cech had clattered Milan Baros in the Chelsea area.

The miracle of Istanbul - May 2005: Final - Liverpool 3-3 Milan (aet, Liverpool win 3-2 on pens)

Having ridden their luck to the final, it seemed the Liverpool bubble had been well and truly burst in a disastrous first half. An inspired Milan took the lead in the first minute through captain Paolo Maldini then a brilliant Hernan Crespo double seemed to have put the game out of reach for the England side. But something strange happened as Milan were celebrating in the dressing room at half-time, and in six surreal minutes Liverpool clawed their way back. First Gerrard powered in a superb header on 54 minutes, then Vladimir Smicer fired in from the edge of the box. Gerrard won a disputed penalty that Dida saved from Xabi Alonso, but the Spaniard netted the rebound to tie it up. Jerzy Dudek saved twice, brilliantly, from Andriy Shevchenko in extra-time then was the shoot-out hero as Liverpool won their fifth European Cup.

The group of schizophrenia - November/December 2007 - Group stage - Liverpool 8-0 Besiktas, Liverpool 4-1 Porto, Marseille 0-4 Liverpool

A draw in Porto and defeats to Marseille and Besiktas left Benitez's side needing to win all three of the return fixtures to reach the knockout stages. Not only did Liverpool turn the tables on their group rivals, they made it look easy. First came an eight-goal blitz against Besiktas, which included a Yossi Benayoun hat-trick and even two for Ryan Babel, then three late goals saw Porto dealt with 4-1 at Anfield. The coup de grace came in Marseille's Stade Velodrome, as goals from Gerrard, Torres, Dirk Kuyt and Babel saw the Reds into the last 16 in emphatic fashion with a 4-0 stroll.

The late flurry - April 2008 - Quarter-final second leg - Liverpool 4-2 Arsenal (5-3 on aggregate)

Another thrilling all-English encounter ended in high drama at Anfield. The tie was heading for extra time until Fernando Torres turned and shot brilliantly into the top-right corner on 69 minutes to give Liverpool the edge. Then, with six minutes to go, disaster. Arsenal counter-attacked through Theo Walcott, who slalomed past three players and set up Emmanuel Adebayor for a simple finish, giving the visitors the lead on away goals. But back came Liverpool and within two minutes a clumsy Kolo Toure challenge on Babel gave Gerrard the chance to save his side from the spot. He made no mistake. Amazingly, there was still time for Babel, the king of late goals, to add another.

Follow LIVE coverage of all eight Champions League games on Eurosport-Yahoo! including Lyon v Liverpool at 19:45 UK time. The action kicks off at 17:30 UK time with Rubin Kazan v Barcelona.

Alex Chick / Eurosport