AFTER the feast came the famine. The sight of Liverpool struggling to compete with the sixth best team in Portugal on Thursday night having dismantled Manchester United four days earlier was baffling.

Vibrant and brimming with intent against the Premier League leaders, the Reds were lifeless and sloppy in their latest assignment on the continent.

In fairness Kenny Dalglish didn’t try to defend the indefensible and was refreshingly honest in his assessment of his side’s poor performance.

They were fortunate that the damage wasn’t more severe than Alan’s 18th minute penalty which was needlessly conceded by Sotirios Kyrgiakos’ clumsy challenge.

However, amidst the frustration there was at least something to lift the spirits.

Both literally and metaphorically Andy Carroll stood head and shoulders above the rest.

After his brief run out in the closing stages against United, this was Carroll’s first chance to make a meaningful contribution in a Liverpool shirt and he didn’t disappoint.

A defensive line which had cruised through the opening hour untested suddenly creaked under pressure from the giant 6ft 3ins frontman.

Carroll got his first touch when he soared to flick on a cross and during 35 promising minutes his aerial prowess was clear for all to see.

The 22-year-old belatedly gave Braga something to worry about and they simply couldn’t handle him with Kaka’s cowardly attempt to halt him with a swinging elbow going unpunished.

Of course with Carroll to aim for there is a danger Liverpool can go too direct.

At times balls were pumped into the box when there were better options down the flanks.

But there is no doubt the Geordie gives the Reds another dimension. It’s a Plan B which will come in handy when Braga attempt to cling on to their narrow advantage at Anfield on Thursday night.

Dalglish has vowed to ease Carroll in gently after his recovery from a thigh injury but the Reds desperately need him to make his first start in the second leg.

Liverpool were fortunate to sneak through in the last round courtesy of Dirk Kuyt’s late goal at Anfield after two instantly forgettable games against Sparta Prague.

Their lack of firepower in Europe is glaring. Their failure to trouble keeper Artur on Thursday night means they have managed just one goal in five away trips in the Europa League this season – Milan Jovanovic’s strike in Bucharest in December.

The ineligibility of Luis Suarez, who terrorised Manchester United last Sunday, is being keenly felt.

If only his former club Ajax had qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League or finished bottom of Group G he would have been available to Dalglish.

But the fact Ajax dropped into the Europa League after coming third ensures Suarez is stuck on the sidelines watching the Reds toil.

Suarez’s potentially mouthwatering partnership with Carroll will only be seen on the domestic stage this season with them set to line up against each other for the first time at Sunderland next Sunday afternoon.

The absence of skipper Steven Gerrard over the next month following minor surgery on his groin lessens Dalglish’s attacking options still further.

It might be unfair to expect too much too soon from Carroll as he settles into life at Anfield and builds up his fitness.

But there is no escaping the fact that Liverpool’s hopes of getting past Braga and going all the way to Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on May 18 rest heavily on his £35million shoulders.

If this eventful season is going to have a silver lining then the Reds will need to have a significant contribution from the most expensive British player in transfer history.