Kevin Keegan can hardly have been impressed.

The England boss turned up at Pride Park hoping to cast his eye over some of the nation's most precious footballing jewels in the beloved red of his old club Liverpool.

And saw them eclipsed by Derby's foreign legion collection of Germans, Jamaicans, Croatians, Costa Ricans and Scandinavians.

Two goals from Paulo Wanchope and one from Deon Burton were enough to give a resurgent Derby another three points in their pursuit of a first European place in 30 years for manager Jim Smith.

But, with Keegan due to name his first national squad on Thursday for the vital European qualifier against Poland, this was as worrying a match for English football as it was for Liverpool.

There was no Real Madrid-bound Steve McManaman, a man who Keegan has hinted could be part of his European Championship plans but who mysteriously did not travel with the team.

The mercurial Michael Owen was substituted at half-time after aggravating an injury.

And Jamie Redknapp did nothing to suggest that he is the central midfielder to galvanise England in their moment of need.

All in all it was enough to turn Keegan's stardust-flecked hair a whiter shade of grey.

True, Robbie Fowler, facing a misconduct charge over the distasteful Le Saux affair, showed his sharpness scoring twice - once from the penalty spot and another typical tap-in from a couple of yards.

But there was little to suggest that once-mighty Liverpool can rise from their mid-table mediocrity and secure a Europe place next season.

In contrast, while only four of the 16 players on Derby's teamsheet were from the home countries, the Midlanders displayed a wonderfully British bulldog spirit in the mould of their gritty boss.

On this form they could have an influence on the title run-in for Pride Park is no soft touch for even the Premiership elite.

Indeed, Derby gave Liverpool notice of their ambitious intentions as early as the fourth minute when Burton was allowed to power forward and crash a 20-yard shot against the post.

And it was no surprise when Derby took the lead. More surging Derby pressure won a corner which Lars Bohinen swung over and Burton rose above everyone to send a glancing header into the net for his 11th .

It was no more than Derby deserved after a bright and enterprising opening which could only have boosted their confidence after a run of five home victories out of six.

Burton could have added to his tally when he dragged another thunderous shot wide and the measure of Liverpool's concern could be gauged by the appearance of manager Gerard Houllier and assistant Phil Thompson on the touchline.

Their presence prompted a steelier Liverpool response and it was no surprise that their most potent threat came from Owen.

The 19-year-old thundered one shot which Derby goalkeeper Russell Hoult could only parry and Robbie Fowler missed his kick when he should have done better.

And it was Owen's scorching pace which won Liverpool an equaliser in the 35th minute.

The England striker set off on one of those scampering runs, the sort you half expect to leave behind a vapour trail. He left Igor Stimac floundering in his wake and it was somehow inevitable when Spencer Prior stuck out a despairing leg and brought him crashing down in the penalty area.

The penalty decision was referee Graham Barber's easiest of the match and Fowler stepped up confidently to blast the spot-kick high into the net.

In truth, it was an equaliser Liverpool barely deserved. But just as it seemed the Reds had steadied an uncertain ship Derby blasted back just before half-time.

And again it was Liverpool's inability to deal with a dead-ball situation which cost them the goal.

A routine free-kick out on the right was floated in by Stimac and this time it was Wanchope who was given a free and unchallenged flight path to cruise in, beat Dominic Matteo in the air, and power the header home from 12 yards.

The interval saw Owen, feeling the effects of a challenge by Prior, replaced by Karlheinz Riedle. But it was Wanchope who once again exposed the fragile Liverpool defence within four minutes of the restart.

Another superbly taken free-kick from Stimac beat the Liverpool offside trap to set Wanchope clear on goal. The big Costa Rican stepped forward and fairly thundered his 20-yard shot into the net.

It should have been all over when Francesco Baiano struck the post with his left-foot shot in the 51st minute, especially as from the rebound Lars Bohinen hit his shot unluckily against Matteo on the goal-line.

But if Liverpool's defence was creaking at every turn, they still managed at times to sweep forward with fluidity.

And it was from one such lubricated movement that Matteo supplied the 57th minute cross for Fowler to rifle home his 15th goal of the season from two yards.

Derby's foreign legion was further enforced in the 67th minute when Vas Borbokis, a £1.5million Greek signing from Sheffield United, came on for Francesco Baiano and Argentinian Horacio Carbonari replaced Stefan Schnoor.

Not unexpectedly Liverpool launched a late rally and a brilliant Redknapp volley was superbly turned away by Hoult.

Riedle could have snatched an equaliser when his acrobatic overhead kick flew narrowly over the bar.

But while Derby lived on their nerves for the last frenetic 20 minutes it would have been an injustice if Liverpool had taken any points back to Merseyside.

If Owen had been able to continue it might have been different but that sadly says much about Liverpool these days - increasingly they are becoming a predictable one man band.

There were three bookings - Derby captain Igor Stimac for a blatant trip on Patrik Berger when the Liverpool forward seemed clean through on goal, Darryl Powell for a foul and Robbie Fowler for dissent.

But this match left Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier scratching his head and scribbling most in his personal notebook.

Teams:

Derby: Hoult, Schnoor (Carbonari 67), Laursen, Stimac, Prior, Powell, Baiano (Borbokis 67), Bohinen, Eranio (Harper 82), Wanchope, Burton.

Subs Not Used: Poom, Christie.

Booked: Stimac, Powell.

Goals: Burton 12, Wanchope 44, 49.

Liverpool: James, Heggem, Staunton (Bjornebye 24), Song, Matteo, Babb, Redknapp, Berger, Gerrard, Owen (Riedle 46), Fowler.

Subs Not Used: Kvarme, Leonhardsen, Friedel.

Booked: Fowler.

Goals: Fowler 36 pen, 57.

Att: 32,913

Ref: G Barber (Pyrford).