Liverpool wake up this morning as virtual certainties for a place in the European Cup semi-finals - and must wonder if they are still dreaming. In the end, they were worth the margin of victory they carry with them into the second leg in a fortnight from now. Yet, for half the game, they were more than matched for skill, effort and potential striking power by their opponents. Star of the show was Liverpool's Scottish midfield ace Graeme Souness, who scored a spectacular hat-trick with three stunning shots - only the second time in his career he has hit three goals in a game. It was not just his finishing that made him special. His tackling, covering, and all round positional sense made him special. There were two real moments for Liverpool to savour and treasure in the memory from the first half - and both brought goals. In the 15th minute, Graeme Souness powered from the edge of the penalty area a right-foot shot which put his side in front after a build up involving two fellow Scots, Alan Hansen and Kenny Dalglish. Then, just on half time, little Sammy Lee made it 2-0 with a shot just as powerful after a cross from Steve Heighway had been only half cleared by towering centre-half lliev. The Bulgarians had started in a manner depressingly familiar to followers of European Cup football. They dug themselves into a trench. But, this time, their tactics had a different, deadlier purpose. Instead of mere survival, they were looking for chances to break in counter-attack, and they did it with menace. There were half a dozen instances when Ray Clemence, in Liverpool's goal, had to be quick from his line.

In the ninth minute, for instance, he blocked with his legs a shot from little outside-right lonchev. In the 22nd, he had to come to kick wildly into the crowd after Markov was put clean through. Liverpool were disrupted by a defensive reshuffle when Phil Thompson went off with a pulled muscle and was replaced in the centre of defence by Colin Irwin. The situation of being two down when they knew in their hearts they should have been at least level, if not leading, would have proved too much for any lesser team; but not these Bulgarians. They went 3-0 down in the 51st minute to a brilliant goal. Heighway beat two defenders, spotted Souness in the clear, and rolled the ball into the Scot's path for another tremendous right-foot scoring shot. CSKA pulled it back to 3-1 in the 57th minute when lonchev, put in the clear by Zdradkov, beat Clemence from outside the area with a beautifully placed low shot. But Liverpool continued the crazy scoring pattern by going further in front in the 61st minute. McDermott wriggled clear on to a through ball from Ray Kennedy and put his shot past Velinov via the post. The Bulgarians disrupted their own rhythm by sending on two substitutes - Vlkov and Dimitrov - in the 73rd minute. Liverpool went even further in front when Souness completed his hat-trick. A cross from Heighway was flicked on by Ray Kennedy's head and, again, Souness connected superbly. It was the second hat-trick of his career - both in this season's European Cup.

Liverpool ripped the heart out of the pride of Bulgaria last night, and sent them home a thoroughly chastened band of soldiers. The CSKA club, which caters for a staggering 28 different sports and provided five gold medallists at the Moscow Olympics, found their footballers no match for the Red Army of Anfield. The men from Sofia's army team must surely be on their way to being invalided out of the European Cup after last night's 5-1 drubbing by Liverpool, who are far too experienced at this level to let slip a four goal lead in a fortnight's time. Graeme Souness was the super sniper who gunned down CSKA with a brilliant hat-trick, reinforced by Sammy Lee and Terry McDermott who contributed the other goals. And with Steve Heighway weaving magic spells once again, and Alan Kennedy enjoying another splendid game, this was an outstanding performance. CSKA, invincible on home territory, turned out to be a team of some style but little steel. Their defence was prone to illogical errors which could have made life even easier for Liverpool and they seemed unable to cope with the effective way Liverpool moved men out of midfield into space in the attacking third of the pitch. They were certainly unable to cope with Alan Hansen when he set off on a typical loping run from the half way line in the 16th minute. Hansen was allowed to take the ball into the danger zone just outside the box and, when Kenny Dalglish took over with a short stabbing pass, there was Souness to beat a man and expertly arrow the ball past goalkeeper Velinov. It was just the start Liverpool wanted and with the crowd in good voice, the match went their way from then on - apart from CSKA's solitary reply in the second half. Yet Liverpool's own defence had its uneasy moments and CSKA could easily have got on the score sheet long before Lonchev finally did the trick shortly after Liverpool's third goal.

Boris Stankov, the CSKA Sofa observer and tactician who attended the match at Anfield on Saturday, attempted to compare Liverpool to Nottingham Forest, the European Cup holders who CSKA eliminated in the first round. "It is difficult to make a comparison because I watched the teams in different matches" he said "but I think Liverpool are stronger and will be difficult to beat. Bob Paisley is a household name in my country where we have all been impressed by his modesty. Liverpool work hard as a team and several players impressed me. They play fast, tackle hard, and have improved now they have all their players available again". Stankov was even introduced into the legendary Anfield boot room - the cockpit from which so many flights to glory have been planned. "I have now entered Liverpool's university of football" he agreed, "in future I will call Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Ronnie Moran the troika".

Lonchev, who scored against Nottingham Forest in Sofia, was twice guilty of squandering opportunities in the first half - first, when he shot straight at Ray Clemence when put through with only the keeper to beat, and then again, when he shot at Clemence after intercepting a casual pass from Hansen. That slip by Hansen should really have been punished more severely and Colin Irwin - substituting for the unlucky Phil Thompson - was also glad to see centre-forward Djevizov shoot high into the crowd after an error by Irwin had enabled Kerimov to send Djevizov through to leave Clemence stranded. Djevizov was a man Liverpool had to watch closely. A big, strong, powerful and surprisingly fast man he looked a real handful in the first half but seemed to lose heart as the game went on. Manager Bob Paisley gave his centre-halves a rocket at half time and not even Phil Thompson, who had gone off with a pulled thigh muscle, escaped the blast. The result was a much more compact showing in the second half, when the one real chance to CSKA was the one which produced their goal. By then, Liverpool were three up. Lee notched the second when Heighway's cross was headed out, and Souness rifled home the third after Heighway had ghosted past two men and rolled the ball invitingly into his path. For a few minutes things looked dicey after Lonchev slid the ball past Clemence in the 58th minute which had the posse of Sofia officials crowing in delight. But McDermott shut them up with a devilish curling shot and then Souness crowned his second hat trick of this European campaign with another searing shot with the right foot. Entertainment rating: four stars. Conditions: dry, pitch soft.

Kevin Keegan, who played for Southampton on Saturday, was full of praise for his old team. "Who is going to beat Liverpool? Who is better than them? Possibly Bayern Munich - and that would be a good Final. But I would not bet against Liverpool. They looked more settled with Phil Thompson, Alan Hansen, and Alan Kennedy back" said Keegan, "They have had a bit of a sticky patch by their standards but the criticism has been unfair as they have had four players out. It is the same as in my day - the more you knock them the better they will be. I did not see much wrong with them".

The good times were rolling again at Anfield. Liverpool eventually destroyed the talented Bulgarian champions CSKA Sofia in their European Cup quarter-final first leg last night and take a four goal lead to Bulgaria for the return match in two weeks' time. Their recent domestic disappointments were forgotten on one of those nights for which Anfield is renowned. All Liverpool's five goals came from midfield men, three from Souness, his second hat trick in the competition this season, and only the third of his career, and McDermott and Lee scored one apiece. The Liverpool manager Bob Paisley's decision to use that seasoned 33-year-old European campaigner Heighway in place of the injured Johnson, paid rich dividends, for he created three of the goals. One worrying note for Liverpool was an injury to their captain Phil Thompson, who limped off after 16 minutes with a ripped thigh muscle and is extremely doubtful for the League Cup final against West Ham a week on Saturday. In spite of the scoreline the Bulgarians were a strong looking side and no pushovers until they lost their creativity and speed and ran out of steam in the second half. They were unlucky to be two goals down at half-time. Their tall and powerful centre forward Djevisov, who would be at home in the English game, drew applause for his close control and was ably supported by Yonchev and Markov. If their finishing had been as sharp as their build up and had Clemence not made a couple of desperate dashes from his line when the Liverpool off-side trap had been beaten, the English champions could have been in trouble. However, Liverpool got the early goal they wanted after 16 minutes. It was the first the Bulgarians had conceded in this competition this season, having previously beaten Nottingham Forest and Szombierki Bytom of Poland.

Hansen began the move on the halfway line, rushed forward, delivered the ball to Dalglish on the right and he hit the ball first time into the path of Souness who had himself run from the halfway line. The Bulgarians were in disarray and quite unable to stop his powerful shot. Twice before the second goal, scored by Lee at the psychologically important moment of a minute from half time, Dalglish, celebrating his 30th birthday, had good chances, once when put through by the substitute Irwin and another when presented with an opportunity by Iliev. Both came to nought but there was no such trouble for Lee. Ray Kennedy pushed a free-kick just outside the box to Heighway and his cross was headed into the path of Lee who scored from 15 yards. The second half belonged to Liverpool although CSKA scored their goal. Souness got his second in the 51st minute, the goalkeeper Velinov standing motionless as his shot from outside the area went into the top right-hand corner. Heighway deserved much of the credit for one of his vintage runs down the left, turning two defenders with ease before passing inside to Souness. Six minutes later Yonchev scored for CSKA, from a pass from Zdradkov but it was only a slight hiccup as Liverpool surged forward. In the 62nd minute, Lee passed across goal to McDermott, running in on the left, and he turned inside Vasilev to delicately place his shot past the flailing arms of Velinov into the far corner. Ten minutes from time, Souness scored his third and Heighway was again the instigator. His cross was unintentionally headed away from goal by Kennedy but Souness, on the edge of the box, smacked it home with another fine shot from 20 yards.