Liverpool's Groundhog Day continued as a last minute goal from Alberto Gilardino secured a 2-1 win for Fiorentina at Anfield and top spot in Group E, despite Lyon thrashing Debrecen in France.

At the start of the night Lyon knew they had to beat their Hungarian counterparts and hope that La Viola failed to do the same at Anfield if they were to top Group E, with the Reds and Debrecen already out.

However, there were cheers from the travelling Fiorentina fans in L4 as goals from Martin Jorgensen and Gilardino secured them a famous win over Liverpool, and condemned the Reds to back-to-back home defeats in Europe for the first time in their illiustrious history.

Rafa Benitez's men must have been experiencing deja-vu, as the match followed the exact same pattern as their 2-1 defeat to Lyon on Matchday 3, with two second half goals, one in the final minute, cancelling out a Yossi Benayoun first half strike.

The Kop roared as Alberto Aquilani was given his first start since his £20million switch from AS Roma in the summer, and the Italian produced some impressive touches in a quiet first-half.

It was the visitors who created most of the chances in the opening period, with Lorenzo De Silvestri and Riccardo Montolivo seeing efforts from corners well saved by stand-in keeper Diego Cavalieri.

However, Liverpool's possession eventually paid off as Steven Gerrard whipped in a free-kick from the right for an unmarked Benayoun to head across Sebastien Frey and in off the post to give the home side the lead just before the break.

The home side were keen to end their disappointing UEFA Champions League campaign with a bang and seemed set to bow out in style.

However, La Viola had not read the script as they came out in the second-half with renewed vigour, and were level on 63 minutes as Gilardino fed Jorgensen on the left to fire past Cavalieri and into the far corner of the net.

The tempo of the match increased, and for the first time it felt like a competitive match as Liverpool won corner after corner looking to retake the lead.

Fernando Torres replaced Dirk Kuyt to lift the crowd, and was soon part of a scramble in the box that saw his shot blocked and Gerrard fire the rebound into the side netting.

Aquilani got 75 minutes under his belt and received a standing ovation from the Anfield faithful as he was replaced by 18-year-old Spaniard Daniel Pacheco, who almost made an immediate impact as he fizzed a shot towards goal that Frey had to turn behind.

It was the home side who were making all the running, and looked the likelier to grab a winner, but there is an air of predictability around Anfield these days, and there were hardly gasps of shock in the 92nd minute when Gilardino popped up with a winner.

The inexperienced Stephen Darby, who had been solid enough for the mosted, was dispossessed by Juan Vargas, who squared the ball for Gilardino to tuck the ball home.

It was disappointing for the Reds as the fans were hoping to sign off in style, though in typical resilient fashion the Kop belted out 'You'll Never Walk Alone' in the dying seconds.

The result was much more important to the visitors, who win Group E and will have the advantage of playing the second leg of their second round tie at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.