Despite dominating the match, the Reds were hit by a sucker punch in injury time as striker Lisandro Lopez found space in the box to chip past a helpless Pepe Reina and secure a share of the spoils - just seven minutes after Babel had fired in spectacularly from 25 yards.
The draw means Liverpool remain third in Group E and in order to reach the last 16 they will need to win their remaining two fixtures and hope that Lyon, who have already qualified for the next phase, take points off second-placed Fiorentina during the next round of matches.
Rafa Benitez's side struggled to win possession in the opening ten minutes but when Torres found himself surprising unmarked with the ball at his foot near the Lyon penalty spot they had a golden opportunity. The Spanish star will have been disappointed that his side-footed shot hit the legs of Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris rather than the net.
Five minutes later the visitors had another chance when an Emiliano Insua cross into a crowded penalty area was met by Dirk Kuyt's right boot; the agile Lloris having to arch his back to tip the chipped shot over the bar.
Andriy Voronin became the third Liverpool striker to have a first-half scoring chance when a long ball over the top put him clear on goal with only the keeper to beat. But again Lloris' legs, and the weakness of the half-volleyed shot, rescued Lyon.
The miss hinted at Voronin's lack of confidence, his willingness to delegate corners to Yossi Benayoun underlined it, while an altercation with team-mate Javier Mascherano will have done little to restore it.
Despite these problems Liverpool ended the half in control but it was noticeable that the hard-working Torres, playing in an isolated role up front, was in some discomfort.
The striker's body almost doubled up as he rested his hands on his knees in an effort to regain his breath before a corner in stoppage time.
New life seemed to have been breathed into the Lyon side early in the second half as time ran out on Liverpool's hopes of resuscitating their campaign.
Babel's appearance as a 67th minute substitute in place of the luckless Voronin coincided with Leiva Lucas finding enough time and space inside the penalty area to place a shot which Lloris did well to parry. Kuyt followed up with an overhead kick which was cleared off the Lyon goal-line.
With 17 minutes left for Liverpool to score in, they nearly went a goal down when Lopez intercepted a back pass to force a point-blank blocked save from the alert Reina.
The bearded Lopez wasn't finished yet – beating defenders with alarming ease when breaking with the ball but failing to beat Reina when his curling shot went wide.
But if Liverpool's hopes of snatching a win with eight minutes left seemed hopeless, then no one had told Babel.
The substitute was allowed space to pick up the ball and cut inside his man, before launching a fierce shot from the edge of the D high into the net away from Lloris' despairing dive.
It was a goal good enough to make you forget the woeful free-kick/pass into touch the goalscorer produced minutes later.
Students of Liverpool's season will view what happened next as being inevitable – off went Torres and into the net went a Lyon equaliser.
It was scored because - with a minute left on the clock - Liverpool failed to deal with the ball bouncing around near their penalty box. When the ball was controlled it was by the quick feet of Lopez whose next touch, to Reina and Liverpool's despair, was a scoring one.
Remaining fixtures:
Tuesday, November 24th 2009
Debrecen v Liverpool
Fiorentina v Lyon
Wednesday, December 9th 2009
Liverpool v Fiorentina
Lyon v Debrecen
The draw means Liverpool remain third in Group E and in order to reach the last 16 they will need to win their remaining two fixtures and hope that Lyon, who have already qualified for the next phase, take points off second-placed Fiorentina during the next round of matches.
Rafa Benitez's side struggled to win possession in the opening ten minutes but when Torres found himself surprising unmarked with the ball at his foot near the Lyon penalty spot they had a golden opportunity. The Spanish star will have been disappointed that his side-footed shot hit the legs of Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris rather than the net.
Five minutes later the visitors had another chance when an Emiliano Insua cross into a crowded penalty area was met by Dirk Kuyt's right boot; the agile Lloris having to arch his back to tip the chipped shot over the bar.
Andriy Voronin became the third Liverpool striker to have a first-half scoring chance when a long ball over the top put him clear on goal with only the keeper to beat. But again Lloris' legs, and the weakness of the half-volleyed shot, rescued Lyon.
The miss hinted at Voronin's lack of confidence, his willingness to delegate corners to Yossi Benayoun underlined it, while an altercation with team-mate Javier Mascherano will have done little to restore it.
Despite these problems Liverpool ended the half in control but it was noticeable that the hard-working Torres, playing in an isolated role up front, was in some discomfort.
The striker's body almost doubled up as he rested his hands on his knees in an effort to regain his breath before a corner in stoppage time.
New life seemed to have been breathed into the Lyon side early in the second half as time ran out on Liverpool's hopes of resuscitating their campaign.
Babel's appearance as a 67th minute substitute in place of the luckless Voronin coincided with Leiva Lucas finding enough time and space inside the penalty area to place a shot which Lloris did well to parry. Kuyt followed up with an overhead kick which was cleared off the Lyon goal-line.
With 17 minutes left for Liverpool to score in, they nearly went a goal down when Lopez intercepted a back pass to force a point-blank blocked save from the alert Reina.
The bearded Lopez wasn't finished yet – beating defenders with alarming ease when breaking with the ball but failing to beat Reina when his curling shot went wide.
But if Liverpool's hopes of snatching a win with eight minutes left seemed hopeless, then no one had told Babel.
The substitute was allowed space to pick up the ball and cut inside his man, before launching a fierce shot from the edge of the D high into the net away from Lloris' despairing dive.
It was a goal good enough to make you forget the woeful free-kick/pass into touch the goalscorer produced minutes later.
Students of Liverpool's season will view what happened next as being inevitable – off went Torres and into the net went a Lyon equaliser.
It was scored because - with a minute left on the clock - Liverpool failed to deal with the ball bouncing around near their penalty box. When the ball was controlled it was by the quick feet of Lopez whose next touch, to Reina and Liverpool's despair, was a scoring one.
Remaining fixtures:
Tuesday, November 24th 2009
Debrecen v Liverpool
Fiorentina v Lyon
Wednesday, December 9th 2009
Liverpool v Fiorentina
Lyon v Debrecen
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