- Even if it wasn’t a particularly memorable European night played under the lights, Liverpool defeated Union SG thanks to goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Diogo Jota to make it two wins in a row in the Europa League.
Union Saint Gilloise loses to Liverpool 2-0.
Goals: Gravenberch 43′, Jota 90+2
Alisson scored six out of ten.
Caoimhin Kelleher’s injury led to an unexpected start for the Reds’ No. 1, who may have been bored because he had little to do in the first half. Thankfully, neither incident was expensive, nor was it when he missed a punch and catch after halftime.
Ali’s center-backs have saved his bacon on more than one occasion, with Quansah saving him after a corner fumble. Perhaps Ali just doesn’t care about the cups.
In the midst of stoppage time, I finally made a good halt.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, score seven
Some great pinged deliveries from deep and a little bit sharper, occasionally rapid surges through his man to change the pace of Liverpool’s play.
led the counterattack and fired the opening shot that resulted in the opening goal before halftime. He made his third start after a break as captain and played for an hour.
Seven Ibrahima Konate
Prior to halftime, he had to sprint past Alisson to clear a clipped shot before it bounced into the goal. This was his first significant involvement. A minute later, the Union forward was awarded a free kick after he wrestled a dangerous ball away from him.
After the restart, a well-timed tackle was made in the box, and the player displayed quick recovery several more times when facing counterattacks.
Jarell Quansah (8 points) was the game’s MVP.
Must think playing professional football is a breeze because he never seems to be bothered, throws the ball out to midfield with great intelligence and conviction, isn’t afraid to use either foot, and reacts fast to clear a ball off the line that Alisson dropped in the direction of the goal.
We virtually never saw any true defensive qualities until a pretty nice battle with Kevin Rodriguez, and he did brilliantly.
Was playing for Bristol Rovers earlier this year, and now Liverpool is starting in Europe.
-7 Kostas Tsimikas
a few effective early crosses and set pieces, as well as a lot of overlapping runs during which he wasn’t always given the ball.
There were a few little defensive hiccups, but nothing major, and Tsimikas helped a lot with the build-up overall. Aside from a right-footed shot from 25 yards out, which was a little unusual, Tsimikas actually put on a pretty regular performance.
– 6 Wataru Endo
Although he wasn’t very adept at passing, he did pick up the ball in some good spots between the lines and ensure that he kept control of it.
Nothing too spectacular, nothing really bad, perhaps didn’t do enough to really stick out, but seems to be picking up the pace a little bit more in line with what is needed.
(8) Harvey Elliott
Elliott actually does appear to be in great shape, and he excelled in the spaces provided to the midfield in this first half despite some erratic game time at the beginning of this season.
He was glad to change up the channels and not simply sit on the right as two strong runs forward with the ball led to openings for the club.
Nothing too spectacular, nothing really bad, perhaps didn’t do enough to really stick out, but seems to be picking up the pace a little bit more in line with what is needed.
(8) Harvey Elliott
Elliott appears to be in good shape despite having a patchy start to this season’s schedule.shown real work ethic, a lot of aggression, and forward-thinking passing when playing. A better performance despite a quieter second half. Was one of our better performers here, so it may be sad that he didn’t get the start on Sunday.
Ryan Gravenberch – 8
Really strong start, gaining control and eluding obstacles before hammering in a fierce shot that resulted in a goal that was disallowed. Before halftime, he scored the simplest goal of his career thus far for the Reds, a three-yard tap-in after the goalkeeper dropped the ball.
For the record, that was his first club goal since August of the previous season, and he was incredibly happy. the hour mark, almost curled in a second.
Regardless of the goal, in our estimation he has put himself in a strong position to replace the suspended Curtis Jones this weekend, but only just ahead of Elliott.
7 Mohamed Salah
Early one-on-one opportunity missed; shot was well stopped but anticipated.
He was impossible to mark thanks to his excellent movement and quickness, and he also set up opportunities for Darwin and the defense to allow for another two or three chances elsewhere.
Didn’t think he would get another chance, so he substituted during the break to get ready for the weekend.
(6) Darwin Nunez
Despite being offside for his ‘goal’ on minute 10, he followed in well. However, we have viewed the replay ten times, and he does not appear to score on minute seventeen.
Was constantly busy and made relentless runs in the channels and behind the defense, but you simply want him to put the full package together more frequently. Hey, let’s save it for Brighton.
7 Diogo Jota
The front three’s quietest player in the first half, fairly tidy but largely outside of the Reds’ best work.
In his best moment, he had a header that was turned over after halftime. However, he always appears more like a goal scoring poacher outside of the penalty area because he lacks the acceleration and quickness to beat a defender or make frequent passes to his teammates.
showed all of it in stoppage time when he couldn’t hold the ball up on the halfway line but was still present in the penalty area to put a decent finish on the night’s most ineffective but fortunate counterattack.
Substitutes
Alexis Mac Allister, who came on in place of Endo at the 46-second mark, scored seven points and generally played well defensively and in possession.
Curtis Jones (on in place of Salah at 46′) – 7 Despite being given a run-out because he is now suspended domestically, his influence from the right was little.
Luis Diaz (on in place of Nunez, 46′) – 6 Despite being a reliable outlet and occasionally looking threatening, Diaz isn’t exactly having his season after a strong start. Lately hit the post but was offside.
Alexander-Arnold was replaced by Joe Gomez in the 62nd second. decent display. A fantastic cross and a few worthwhile difficulties.
Gravenberch was replaced by Dominik Szoboszlai in the 78th second. I’m not sure if he was required to finish the game, but maybe it keeps him mentally sharp.
Mrozek, Jaros, Van Dijk, Matip, Robertson, Chambers, and Doak were not substitutes.
Jurgen Klopp – 9
went a little stronger than average for the starting lineup and was rewarded with a much more spirited start to the game.
Clearly followed a predetermined plan, too, as evidenced by the three substitutions Trent made at the interval and the hour he received to keep a number of players active yet fresh for the upcoming match against Brighton.
This was a really good and risk-free rotation from the boss in a game we were never in danger of losing, to be honest, considering a few injuries and bans had piled up.
Six points have been tallied, two games played in Europe, and—let’s hope—the majority of the team will be prepared to play in the weekend’s marquee match.
By the looks of things in the second half, he wasn’t too pleased with his team’s performance, but it’s not really Jurgen’s fault we missed three good opportunities to put the game beyond our reach.
Definitions of the player ratings are as follows: 10 = Faultless, 9 = Excellent, 8 = Very Good, 7 = Good, 6 = Average, 5 = Below Par, 4 = Bad, 3 = Very Bad, 2 Awful, and 1 = Surely Not Make Your Ratings.
