Liverpool's multi-million pound team suffered a scare in the air before they landed in Warsaw last night en route to their European Cup quarter-final first leg against Widzew Lodz. On its first approach through thick mist and cloud, their British Airways Boeing 737 overshot the snow surrounded airport runway. One wing tip was heart-stoppingly close to the ground - it seemed no more than the height of two houses - with the pilot still apparently positioning to level off. Inside the plane 125 passengers, 16 players, manager Bob Paisley, his staff, general secretary Peter Robinson, club directors, journalists and fans, then heard the engine surge to full power again and felt the nose of the aircraft rise steeply. Few of them would have failed to recall that it is only three weeks since the 25th anniversary of the tragedy at Munich involving Manchester United. But no one panicked - and pilot Captain Palmer explained over the intercom to the shaken assembly that the landing instructions from Warsaw airport control had been misleading and he was making another circuit. And five minutes later, when the plane landed perfectly there was tremendous applause - particularly from the section occupied by players. And though later both the Liverpool club and the airline played down the incident with typical British cool, Anfield skipper Graeme Souness admitted: "I was dead worried. We have travelled some miles but I have never experienced anything like that before. It was all so quick and it was only later that we realised how frightening it was." Captain Palmer explained: "I was making an approach to land but a combination of circumstances made me decide to pull back, overshoot, and come back. The control assumed I knew the airport better than I did, but it was never a dangerous situation."

British Airways representative Harry McCracken was coolest of all insisting: "It was perfectly routine. It is in the manual. If in doubt, overshoot." It was a dramatic climax to a troubled day. Liverpool's departure, scheduled from their local airport at Speke, had to be transferred to Manchester Ringway because of fog - though I swear the visibility from both airports was vastly better than Warsaw. The delays simply indicate that Liverpool, and all other English clubs, should never in future leave travel arrangements as important as the European Cup until 24 hours before the match. The Merseyside kings must now get their minds on the job facing them in Lodz.

Bruce Grobbelaar admits his mistake in Sofia last season was his worst moment in football and caused him to rethink his attitude to goalkeeping. "I'd always believed any ball played into the box like that was fair game and I still think I am as good as anyone in the country at coming for crosses. But I now choose the time to go and the time to stay with a lot more care," he said "the best way to push it out of my mind is to help us get through this tie. The Poles will throw everything at us and know they need a good lead under their belts before they come to Anfield. I guess I will have the opportunity to make up for Bulgaria."

Liverpool's highly-paid squad, rated the best team in Europe, are insured for a staggering 10 million pounds. This information came to light after Liverpool's terrifying experience as they were about to land in Warsaw on the way to their European Cup quarter-final first leg against Polish champions Widzew Lodz. Their chartered British Airtours Boeing 747 came down through thick fog and cloud and was about to land at snow-covered Warsaw airport when the pilot suddenly took the aircraft up again. Passengers in window seats on the port side said the plane was at an angle to the runway and, when it turned, the port wing dipped dangerously low and seemed only about 20 feet off the ground when the pilot decided to abort the landing. He landed perfectly at the second attempt. The plane was carrying players, officials, journalists and supporters. Skipper Graeme Souness admitted: "I was dead worried. It was more frightening afterwards when you thought about it." Daily Mirror sports writer Frank McGhee was convinced the plane was going to crash and said: "It could have been Munich all over again." The incident came only a few weeks after the 25th anniversary of Manchester United's fatal crash in Munich in February 1958, when they were returning from a European match in Belgrade. Whether it was, indeed, a "near miss" - and the crew of the Boeing would not accept it was - became a major talking point for the next few hours as the badly shaken party made the 90-mile coach trip to Lodz. The pilot, Captain Ulick Palmer, did say that Warsaw Airport control thought he had known the airport better than he did when, in fact, he had never landed there previously. The conditions for landing, he said, were worse than he had been led to believe. But he insisted that at no time was it a dangerous situation, an opinion disputed by several passengers. However, the entire party had every admiration for the quick thinking of Captain Palmer in taking the plane up again and landing perfectly the second time. Inevitably, the experience left several people wondering what would have happened if the plane had crashed. Would the entire 16-man Liverpool squad have been wiped out and, if so, how much would their insurers have to pay out? Club officials revealed the squad was insured for 10 million pounds for the year on a policy that covered everything except, surprisingly, playing injuries. An "all risks" policy, claimed a club official, would have put the existing premium of 30,000 pounds up to an astronomical figure which Liverpool could not afford.

The 10 million pounds insurance was based on the board's assessment of the players' transfer market value when the policy was taken out last year. It was admitted that this figure would probably be reduced now the bottom has fallen out of the transfer market. Individual figures were not given but it was established that Scottish international Kenny Dalglish was given the highest insurance valuation. In actual transfer fees, the Liverpool squad cost around 4 million pounds to assemble. It was an ill-fated and uncomfortable trip to Poland from start to finish. The outward journey began with a tiresome delay because of fog at Liverpool Airport which prevented their chartered aircraft from landing. Players, Press and supporters had to travel by coach to Manchester to join the flight there. On arrival in Warsaw, snow and fog made the road journey to Lodz a laborious one. Accommodation was spartan, by western standards, but the food at the Centrum Hotel was far better than expected and very different than that available to the average Pole. Even so, Liverpool took a variety of non-perishable provisions with them. The game, at the LKS Stadium, began at 5 PM Polish time and it was Widzew's first competitive match since November 22 because of the mid-winter break. The Poles surprised Liverpool with their pace in the first 20 minutes and gave the English champions some anxious moments. But Liverpool succeeded in taking the steam out of the game and the 43,000 crowd and began the second half full of confidence. But, after 49 minutes, a dreadful error by their Zimbabwe-born goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar gave Lodz a gift goal. He failed to gather a left-wing cross from Grebosz and succeeded only in pushing the ball back towards his own goal where Miroslaw Tlokinski joyfully slammed it home. Liverpool recovered well and dominated much of the second half, playing some of their best football in Europe. But a late break-away goal brought Lodz a second goal from substitute Wraga and that was a "killer". So Liverpool went into the second leg needing to win by three clear goals. The last time they faced such an uphill task was when they started two down at home to Nottingham Forest in the first round of the 1978-79 European Cup and drew 0-0. Fog threatened a prompt return to England after the first leg but an improved weather report from Warsaw enabled the party to set off from Lodz and to take off at midnight. Thankfully, the return journey was without incident.

Liverpool have a Polish mountain to climb in their Anfield backyard if they are to reach the European Cup semi-finals. Their dream of taking the trophy for a fourth time is hanging by a thread after this defeat. And victory in the return on March 16 will not be easy if the evidence of the Mersey men's barely credible misfortunes here yesterday provides any real indication of the way things could go. Liverpool, despite the tradition which usually forces champions to defend away from home, were in total control for the whole of the second half and attacked in waves. They were worth at least a draw and should have won. But there are three reasons why they did not achieve the result they came for and clearly deserved. One is their goalkeeper, Bruce Grobbelaar, who seems to find it statutory that he should make mistakes in vital games. This time he made one that was disastrous three minutes into the second half. He attempted incredibly to catch one-handed Krzysztof Surlit's cross, dropped the ball and Miroslaw Tlokinski was there to score. Second, is that any team which attacks as furiously as Liverpool inevitably exposes itself to the killing, chilling risk of the counter-attack. And it was such a move that produced the Polish champion's second nine minutes from the end - though Grobbelaar, on this occasion, had no chance of stopping the header from substitute Wieslaw Wraga as it flashed past him. The third reason was the mavellous ability, agility and talent of the Pole's own goalkeeper Jozef Mlynarczk. He said his own personal thank-you to a defence which protected him stubbornly, if sometimes, amateurishly, with some mavellous saves of the sort expected from a World Cup star. The game began at a furious pace, perhaps unexpected as it was the home side's first major game following their league's winter break. Lodz showed the greater variety and attacking ideas, while Liverpool defended desperately, scattering corners like confetti at a wedding.

Defenders with the height and muscle of Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson became the stars of the show and gradually the message crashed through that confident Liverpool were coping, not just merely effectively, but brilliantly and beautifully. The defensive sureness enabled the midfield men to contain most of those first-half threats and start to setup some attacking of their own through Ian Rush. After Grobbelaar's disastrous error, the Polish team made what could have been the fatal mistake of sitting back and sheltering behind the fragile shield of their lead while Liverpool hit back. Bob Paisley's braves were attacking so whole-heartedly that a major threat came from their left-back Alan Kennedy. He twice came within inches of a goal, first from a free-kick flashed just over the bar and then with a shot deflected for a corner. He was also the man responsible for two crosses which brought Rush so close to an equaliser. The Polish keeper cut out the first, with the second hooked wide by Rush from the right as Liverpool stormed furiously forward. It was beginning to look as though Liverpool could get what they came for, when the second goal shattered them. But they battled to the last and every man in the 40,000 capacity crowd must have felt for them in the closing stages when they came so close to the away goals that are vital in this competition. In the 83rd minute, for instance, Mlynarczk made a tremendous one-handed diving save from Rush. Two minutes later, Ronnie Whelan had a shot headed off the line by full-back Grebosz. And after 88 minutes, David Hodgson, who had come on for Craig Johnston six minutes earlier, shot wide when it seemed easier to score. When you remember all that, it makes Paisley's belief that Liverpool can still come through look justified.

Bruce Grobbelaar, whose judgment of a cross did much to put Liverpool out of the European Cup at the quarter-final stage in Sofia a year ago, blundered again in Lodz yesterday evening as the English champions were left the task of overcoming a two-goal deficit at Anfield in a fortnight's time. They coped extremely well with the Poles until the 48th minute when Grobbelaar chose to field a flighted ball one-handed and succeeded only in presenting Tlokinski with the opportunity of putting Widzew ahead. The Pole's were immediately hit by the full force of Liverpool's stung pride but they survived and, ten minutes from time, increased their advantage with a magnificent goal headed by 19-year-old substitute Wraga. In a frenetic finish, Liverpool might have pulled back both goals but the tiring Poles held out, preserving their record of denying an away goal to any of the four English clubs they have faced in recent years - Manchester United, Manchester City, Ipswich and now Liverpool. This was an extraordinary result considering the balance of play, with the finger of blame pointing directly at Grobbelaar. In fairness, it ought to be added that the course of events might have turned against Liverpool earlier had the goalkeeper not advanced to baulk Grebosz with the defence hopelessly split down the middle. That save seemed an important one because the Poles, playing their first competitive match in three months, were threatening to take control with the sharp, aggressive Smolarek prominent. As it was, Liverpool steadied, and with Lawrenson marvellously authoritative in defence, they began to take control. The Poles were reduced to a single long-range shot by Filpczak and Liverpool must have gone in at the interval utterly confident that they had gone much of the way towards atoning for Sofia. In Grobbelaar's case, though, there was a touch of too much confidence - and within three minutes Liverpool suffered for it. Surlit put over a high cross from the left and the goalkeeper, rising unchallenged, curled a single arm around the ball; it is one of his tricks, but on this occasion it went horribly wrong as the ball slipped from his grasp and bounced just behind Tlokinski, who wheeled on one foot and smashed it into the net with the other. Instead of being a goal ahead - as they surely would have been had Johnston controlled a pass from Lee a minute earlier - Liverpool were behind and they immediately set about correcting matters.

Attacking with a ferocity neither side had shown hitherto, they unleashed Kennedy's determination on the Polish defence after the left-back had had a shot deflected wide he crossed for Rush, whose volley cleared the bar by inches. The Poles, by now, were feeling the effects of their layoff and a recent 'flu epidemic. But, in the 80th minute, they scored again. Grebosz took Smolarek's precise return, moved nimbly up the left and hit a long deep cross that Wraga headed firmly into the far corner from 15 yards. Mlynarczk then made an astonishing one-handed save from Rush, after which Whelan had a shot headed clear by Grebosz to deny Liverpool the away goal - an issue that could yet prove crucial.

After the match, Bruce Grobbelaar admitted: "I have to blame myself. It was my handling error. I should have held it but I dropped it."

Bob Paisley said defiantly: "That was as well as we have played in Europe and at the end of the day, I'll have a bet we will beat them over two legs. It is not finished yet by a long way but you cannot make mistakes like that."

Graeme Souness admitted: "Obviously, we are very disappointed because we had weathered what we expected in the first 15 minutes when they came at us. But Bruce has kept us in games so many times in the past and he will do it again. A 1-0 defeat would have been a good result but this is a bad one. Even so, we are sure we can get through at Anfield."

Delighted Widzew Coach Wladyslaw Zmuda commented: "Few people gave us much chance, especially with the 'flu epidemic which affected nine of our players last week. But we are in with a great chance now."

Liverpool’s European Cup ambitions were dealt two sickening blows in the RTS Stadium in Lodz. The Polish champions Widzew profited from an error by Bruce Grobbelaar - uncomfortably reminiscent of the blunder which sent Liverpool on their way to defeat at the same quarter-final stage in Sofia a year ago. Grobbelaar's moment of horror came 48 minutes into a match falling steadily into Liverpool's disciplined control. He failed to hold on with a right-handed attempt to catch a centre from the left by Grebosz and presented Tlokinski with a gift goal. And ten minutes from time, Widzew doubled their first leg advantage to send the 40,000 sell-out crowd into such exciting celebration that police were called to encircle the pitch. If there is any consolation in Liverpool's third defeat in four matches it was the quality of their performance. The manner in which they controlled the game, particularly in the second half, suggests the task of winning by three goals in the return leg at Anfield in a fortnight's time is not totally beyond them. Yet early on, Liverpool were grateful to survive an onslaught which endorsed their belief that this Polish side is equipped to attack with pace and fine control. Indeed, the second-minute save Grobbelaar made from Grebosz proved important. Such an early goal could only have fuelled the passion running high in the stadium and undermined Liverpool's patient holding operation. Grobbelaar dashed to the very edge of his box to block the full-back's shot with his legs after Liverpool's cover had been cut open by Smolarek. Grobbelaar was not involved again until the 35th minute when he smothered a curling 25-yard effort struck through a crowded penalty area by Filipczak. But the danger was always lurking particularly from Polish World Cup star Smolarek, a winger with trickery as well as speed. Liverpool were often stretched by his runs down either flank but their defending, particularly by Mark Lawrenson, was often splendid. In one memorable incident, Lawrenson managed to police Smolarek adroitly out of the danger zone, and won the tackle on the byline to find the supporting Sammy Lee.

Liverpool frequently fell foul of Lodz's offside trap when they moved forward. They were caught ten times in the first half. But Johnston almost found a yard of space at the end of a neat buildup involving Rush and Whelan and when Dalglish caught the Poles cold with a deft forward chip, Whelan's shot was deflected wide of goal by Filipczak. Liverpool were perilously close to stealing the lead a minute before Grobbelaar's error. Sammy Lee's nicely weighted through pass set Johnston clear, but the midfield player overran the ball and allowed the goalkeeper a simple collection. The miss could hardly have been punished more cruelly as Grobbelaar left his line in pursuit of a deep left wing centre from Grebosz. He tried to make the catch one handed as the ball hung in the air, failed to hold on and could only watch in horror as Tlokinski accepted the open invitation to score. Polish fans danced on the pitch in delight and it was a full minute before Liverpool, in a more positive frame of mind, could get down to the task of trying to pull themselves back into the game. Full back Alan Kennedy was conspicuous in Liverpool's domination of the second half. He thumped one 20 yard effort just over, saw another deflected just past the post and then delivered a left wing centre that beat the goalkeeper before Rush, stretching to meet it at the byline, lifted it over. Souness brought a falling save from Mlynarczyk with a 30-yard free kick and then fell victim to a tackle which earned Grebosz a booking. Just when Liverpool looked to have established control over events, they fell victim to a superb counter-punch goal. Smolarek started a high speed break with a pass down the left, which sent Grebosz overlapping. He delivered a deep cross to the far side of the penalty area where substitute Wieslaw Wraga bulleted a header from 12 yards into the bottom corner. It was a choking moment and Liverpool's luck got no better as Whelan, set up by substitute Hodgson, saw his shot headed off the line and Rush was denied by a breathtaking save from goalkeeper Mlynarczyk.