Despite having failed to properly test goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev with a number of chances the Reds seemed to be managing to hold on in their last-32 Europa League first-leg tie in the sub-zero Petrovsky Stadium.

But with 20 minutes remaining, Hulk powered home a brilliant 30-yard strike before substitute Sergei Semak converted from close-range moments later.

Liverpool — and in particular top scorer Luis Suarez — will have to rediscover their shooting boots for the return leg next week otherwise their last chance of a trophy this season will be lost.

For that reason, he selected virtually a full-strength side with captain Steven Gerrard starting his first away game in Europe this season.

The Russian champions fed off the fervor of their fans and displayed a sharpness which defied their two months without a competitive match as both striker Alexander Kerzhakov and Hulk, the latter from distance, were denied early on by Jose Reina.

In between, Suarez responded by turning Nicolas Lombaerts and rolling a shot past goalkeeper Malafeev and across goal but wide of the far post.

The Belgian defender was not having the best of nights as he then inexplicably passed the ball to Suarez who drove into the area, rounded Malafeev but was denied from a narrow angle as Lombaerts recovered to block.

However, Liverpool, in trying to play a cagey European-style game, sank further back into their own half and it only served to invite on the hosts who saw Danny’s header easily saved and Hulk hit the post.

The Reds’ attacking was sporadic at best on a pitch cutting up badly but five minutes before halftime, Suarez almost pinched a cheeky goal when the Zenit defense got themselves in a mess and Suarez backheeled Sterling’s low cross just wide.

Johnson had a shot blocked by Malafeev after a long, driving run early in the second half while Suarez fired wide again as Liverpool could not find a clinical edge inside the penalty area.

It was a failing which cost the Reds dearly on Monday as they were caught cold by West Brom, who scored twice late on at Anfield.

While they had not had the same dominance as they enjoyed against the Baggies, they were not exactly in trouble — and that was when they were exposed.

With 20 minutes to go Jordan Henderson was dispossessed and Hulk, who had previously threatened without being worryingly dangerous, smashed one in to give Reina no chance.

But the defending for the second goal less than three minutes later raised plenty of questions as right back Alexander Anyukov’s low cross was drilled home at the far post by Semak.

Gerrard’s free kick forced a low save from Malafeev but no-one was on hand to capitalize on the rebound but Liverpool appeared to still be going backwards rather than forwards.

It encouraged Zenit to go for what would surely have been the killer third and Viktor Fayzulin saw his long-range effort deflected narrowly wide.

Liverpool will require a much-improved performance in a week’s time if it is to turn around the deficit and keep its quest for silverware alive.

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The league and union met separately with federal mediator Scot Beckenbaugh during a series of meetings that spanned the whole day Friday and late into the evening. They will continue that process Saturday morning.

It isn’t yet known if the league and union will meet face-to-face Saturday, the 112th day of the lockout. The sides have less than a week to reach a new collective bargaining agreement to save what would likely be a 48-game hockey season.

Few details emerged about the scope or subject matter of those meetings and whether progress was forged, although a source told ESPN that both sides expressed signs of flexibility to the mediator.

With exactly one week left until the league’s self-imposed deadline of Jan. 11 to reach a deal, the NHL and NHLPA have resorted to “shuttle mediation” since the fallout from the last time they met in person Wednesday night.

That negotiating session was marked by the NHLPA’s decision not to file a disclaimer of interest by the midnight deadline, although the hope that a new deal could be close abated Thursday morning after reports of tension between the sides.

The NHLPA was angered by the league’s attempt to change language in one area of the CBA, that which pertains to the penalization of teams that are found guilty of hiding hockey-related revenue.

That issue has since been resolved, a source informed ESPNNewYork.com, although the lack of trust between the sides seemed to resurface.

The NHLPA initiated a vote Thursday evening to provide again the union’s executive board with the authority to file a disclaimer of interest. The 48-hour voting window expires Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.

With no formal negotiations between the sides since midweek, nerves continue to fray with the season hanging in the balance.

All regular-season games already have been canceled through Jan. 14, and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has set Jan. 11 as the deadline to reach a new CBA and avoid the entire season being scrapped.

The sides have traded four proposals in the past week — two by each side — but none has gained enough traction. Getting an agreement on a pension plan likely would go a long way toward an agreement that would put hockey back on the ice.

NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr believed a plan for players-funded pension was established before talks blew up in early December. That apparently wasn’t the case, or the NHL has changed its offer regarding the pension in exchange for agreeing to other things the union wanted.

The salary-cap number for the second year of the deal — the 2013-14 season — hasn’t been agreed to, and it is another major point of contention. The league is pushing for a $60 million cap, while the union wants it to be $65 million with a floor of $44 million.

In return for the higher cap number players would be willing to forgo a cap on escrow.

Both sides seem content on the deal lasting for 10 years, but they have different opinions on whether an opt-out should be allowed to be exercised after seven years or eight.

The NHL proposed last Thursday that pension contributions come out of the players’ share of revenues, and $50 million of the league’s make-whole payment of $300 million will be allocated and set aside to fund potential underfunded liabilities of the plan at the end of the collective bargaining agreement.

Last month, the NHL agreed to raise its make-whole offer of deferred payments from $211 million to $300 million as part of a proposed package that required the union to agree on three nonnegotiable points. Instead, the union accepted the raise in funds, but then made counterproposals on the issues the league stated had no wiggle room.

“As you might expect, the differences between us relate to the core economic issues which don’t involve the share,” Fehr said of hockey-related revenue, which likely will be split 50-50.

The NHL is the only North American professional sports league to cancel a season because of a labor dispute, losing the 2004-05 campaign to a lockout. A 48-game season was played in 1995 after a lockout stretched into January.

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