FH Harnarfjordur 1-4 Aston Villa: Gareth Barry so cool in Iceland

Gareth Barry starred in Aston Villa's UEFA Cup qualifier last night - but Liverpool are still desperate to sign him despite the midfielder now being cup-tied.

The England ace scored after just four minutes , but his appearance means he is ineligible to play in the Champions League until the February knock-out stages.

However Reds boss Rafa Benitez is refusing to give up FH Hafnarfjordur 1 Aston Villa 4 his four-month pursuit and has told Kop chief executive Rick Parry to get the £18million-rated star regardless.

Benitez believes Barry would still be worth signing as he could play in their Champions League games next year, assuming they qualify, and also crucially in the Premier League.

Parry, whose relationship with Benitez has been strained by the Barry saga, will demand a discount from Villa because of his unavailability in Europe until next year.

Villa know there remains a danger Barry could end up on Merseyside even though Liverpool are struggling to raise the funds. In the meantime Barry wants to play for Villa in case he is forced to remain with Martin O'Neill's side. Barry needs to win back the Villa fans if Liverpool fail to make good on their pledges to make a fifth bid before the transfer window shuts.

And the left-sided ace, who has two years left on his Villa contract, is even willing to discuss a new £75,000-a-week deal with the Midlands club.

But Barry will not be pressurised into signing until the window has shut - extinguishing his hopes of moving to Liverpool this year.

Arsenal continue to monitor Barry's situation, yet Barry's preference for a move to Anfield means the Gunners will not enter the bidding until they know for sure Liverpool do not have the cash. And Liverpool's continued pursuit of Barry is likely to infuriate O'Neill even further.

Barry, watched by England boss Fabio Capello, underlined his class last night by firing Villa ahead in Iceland.

Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor also netted before the break at the Laugardalsvollur Stadium and, although midfielder Matthias Gudmundsson pulled one back, Martin Laursen's header gave his side a comfortable lead to take back to Villa Park.

FH HAFNARFJORDUR: G Sigurdsson, Eiriksson, B Sverrisson, Valgardsson, Nielsen, Gudnason, Vidarsson, Siim, Vihjalmsson, M Gudmundsson, T Gudmundsson.

ASTON VILLA: Friedel, Gardner, Davies , Laursen , Shorey , Reo- Coker, Petrov, Barry, Young, Harewood , Agbonlahor..

HERO OF THE MATCH Martin Laursen (ASTON VILLA) 8 Scored and led Villa to a comfortable European victory

VILLAIN OF THE MATCH The game of Scrabble: Just when you thought you could get one up on your opponent, you find out that Hafnarfjordur is only worth a miserable 30 points. Nightmare!

ANORAK Aston Villa are now unbeaten in their last five away matches

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