Tamas Priskin's goal gave Ipswich the first leg
advantage, holding off a defender before sliding the ball past goalkeeper
Wojciech Szczesny in the 78th minute.
Kenny Dalglish's first Premier League match back as
Liverpool manager ended in the club's second loss this season to Blackpool,
which returned to the top flight after a 39-year absence.
Fernando Torres scored after three minutes, but
Blackpool's Gary Taylor-Fletcher leveled nine minutes later and teammate D.J.
Campbell's second-half goal inflicted Liverpool's 10th loss of the season.
Ipswich has had a turbulent week with Roy Keane leaving
as manager and Paul Jewell appointed as his successor. The team is only three
points above the League Championship relegation zone, and had been thrashed 7-0
at Chelsea in the FA Cup on Saturday.
"Pretty much everyone in the country wrote us off
today, so we've surprised a lot of people," Ipswich captain David Norris
said. "We let a lot of people down against Chelsea.
We didn't do ourselves justice, so we went out tonight
with that bit of extra determination and did what we had to.
"But there's still work to be done and we still have
to go to the Emirates in the second leg." Looking for his first trophy
since the 2005 FA Cup, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger fielded strong side that
included Spain World Cup winner Cesc Fabregas and England internationals Theo
Walcott and Jack Wilshere.
But the Premier League's third-place team failed to hit
top gear and was fortunate not to lose by a bigger margin ahead of the second
leg on Jan. 25 at Emirates Stadium.
Priskin gave Arsenal center backs Johan Djourou and
Laurent Koscielny a torrid time, demonstrating why Wenger needs to reinforce in
defense during the January transfer window.
"Let's not think that we lost the game because we haven't
bought a central defender," Wenger said. "We lost the game because we
didn't play as well as we can.
"We have only two central defenders and we are
short.
it is early to talk about a player coming in."
Arsenal's lack of cutting edge was evident with Ipswich goalkeeper Marton Fulop
not having a serious save to make.
"We didn't create many chances," Wenger said.
"Ipswich defended very well and we were caught out. We had no spark.
Ipswich were sharper than us and we made a defensive
mistake, which they took advantage of. But we're at home in the second leg and
that could make all the difference."
Blackpool showed that the 2-1 result at Anfield in
October was no fluke and exposed the size of the task facing Dalglish, who
returned Saturday to the job he relinquished 20 years ago following Roy
Hodgson's dismissal.
Dalglish's challenge is not to deliver Liverpool's first
English league title since 1990, but to keep the 18-time champions in the top
flight. They are four points above the drop zone with 17 matches to go.
"You can see the effort and desire is there,"
Dalglish said. "But sometimes it doesn't matter how good the player is, he
may not have the belief. We'll work hard on giving the side belief and
confidence." It began well for Liverpool. Dirk Kuyt passed the ball to
Martin Kelly, who advanced over the halfway line before rolling a pass into the
inside-right channel. Torres raced into the penalty area and sent a fierce shot
past goalkeeper Richard Kingson into the roof of the net from a tight angle.
It was the Spain striker's second goal in his last nine
matches, and seventh of the season.
But the visitors' joy lasted only until the 12th minute.
Liverpool midfielder Raul Meireles carelessly gave the
ball away in midfield to David Vaughan, whose pass allowed Taylor-Fletcher to
run through the defense before rolling a shot under goalkeeper Pepe Reina.
Blackpool's winner came in the 69th, Ian Evatt beating
Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel to Neal Eardley's deep cross for Campbell to
head home.
