CSKA kicked off, but Liverpool had the first chance of the match. Dietmar Hamann shot from but his shot was saved by CSKA goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev. 11 minutes after the start of the match Luis García was put through on goal from a pass by Hamann, but before he could shoot, Akinfeev had smothered the ball. García was put through on goal again moments later from a Boudewijn Zenden pass but his shot went over the crossbar. Midway through the first-half, García found Fernando Morientes from goal with a pass, but Morientes' subsequent shot was saved by Akinfeev. At this point in the match, Liverpool were dominating possession but were unable to convert this into goals. With Liverpool dominating for the majority of the half, CSKA scored against the run of play. Midfielder Daniel Carvalho took the ball past Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina and put the ball into an open goal to give CSKA a 1–0 lead. It was not until the 36th minute that Liverpool created another goalscoring opportunity, however García and Steve Finnan both failed to score. Towards the end of the half, Zenden was shown a yellow card for a late tackle on Chidi Odiah.