For City, of course, this was a night to be taken seriously. Their first-leg victory in Manchester three weeks ago had been an unconvincing affair and the fact that manager Keegan fielded his strongest line-up last night spoke volumes for his desire to put things right.
Happily for him, City started the game brightly and survived only one minor scare - as Davy de Beule broke to shoot low past David Seaman's right post - before they took the lead in the 17th minute.
Anelka and Shaun Wright-Phillips had already come close before Michael Tarnat hoisted a ball towards the far post and Paulo Wanchope was impeded by Lokeren wing back Mamadou Coulibaly.
Protests inevitably followed on the field and in the stands but French referee Damien Ledentu seemed to have called the incident correctly and Anelka promptly scored from the spot with his right foot.
City failed to create another clear-cut opening in the first half but were comfortably in control. Lokeren, for their part, were tidy enough in possession but uncomfortable when defending.
Striker Aboubacar Fofana headed a presentable chance across goal in the 25th minute while Lezou Doba was pulled up for offside when breaking clear soon after. Apart from that, Seaman was untroubled in City's goal.
City's efforts were less convincing in the second period and for the most part they conceded territorial advantage to the Belgian side.
Still, however, Lokeren failed to create clear openings and when Seaman dropped smartly to his right to save Runar Kristinsson's free-kick just before the hour it was very much a lone threat.
City were also lacking in creativity as the game wore on but Keegan will still reflect on the evening with some satisfaction as his team overcame the threat of an
upset without major difficulty. But he will be well aware that there is plenty of room for improvement.
