"I'm very disappointed because we had chances in all the games," said Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez. "We have to be disappointed but at least we won. We did our job today."

David Ngog scored the only goal of Tuesday's match in the fourth minute, his tap-in from three meters deflecting in off the post after Jamie Carragher headed the ball back across the box.

Liverpool had several other scoring chances, with Debrecen goalkeeper Vukasin Poleksic making good saves from Ngog in the 38th and Steven Gerrard in the 59th.

Benitez lamented that late goals suffered in earlier group games had undermined Liverpool's campaign.

"We were not worse than the other teams," Benitez said, adding that Liverpool would now concentrate on Sunday's Premier League match against Everton and later on the Europa League, for which it qualified courtesy of its third-place finish in Group E.

Despite the defeat, Benitez found solace in Gerrard's return from injury and the England midfielder's good form during the match.

"He can now play more or less 90 minutes," said Benitez, who sent Alberto Aquilani on for Gerrard with just seconds left in the match.

Benitez said that Liverpool's streak of five consecutive years in the Champions League had built impossibly high expectations.

"Because we were so good, people think that this has to be every year," Benitez said.

Liverpool dominated against Debrecen with 67 percent of possession, and coach Andras Herczeg lamented his side's ability to keep the ball.

"Our passes were inaccurate throughout the whole match," Herczeg said. Debrecen had only five shots on goal during the match, with its best scoring chances coming in the last 10 minutes. First, a shot from outside the penalty area by Gergely Rudolf in the 81st which was well saved by Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina and later a powerful strike from 10 meters by Adamo Coulibaly which bounced off Reina's legs.

With one round remaining in the group stage, Fiorentina leads Group E with 12 points, followed by Lyon with 10. Liverpool has seven points, while Debrecen has none. Liverpool will host Fiorentina on Dec. 9, when Debrecen plays at Lyon.

Debrecen and Israel's Maccabi Haifa _ which plays against Bayern Munich on Wednesday _ are the only teams without a point in the Champions League this year.