Today began the potentially long and winding road of the Europa League for Liverpool FC. It is always a competition mired in controversy for fans in regards to how important it is and where to place it in importance for a long season full of league games and cup competitions. Lots of new faces saw the field for Liverpool on this day. Jordan Rossiter and Divock Origi saw their first starts of the year. The evening would start as a back and forth contest between Liverpool and the French side, Bordeaux. Coutinho rolled one just wide in the fifth minute to begin the Reds' attack.
However, moments later, a long ball over the top fooled the shaky Liverpool defense and almost got chipped over a sliding Simon Mingolet in the 11th minute. That chance began a poor run of form for the Reds that saw a yellow card given to Kolo Toure, a hesitant punch from Mingolet and an injury from said punch on Toure. Liverpool again let up a long ball into the box and Wahbi Khazri almost curled one into the top corner, but saw it sail just wide.
There were decent offensive moments for this Reds side. Even though it was called offside, Divock Origi looked very positive on the ball, just skimming one wide in the 26th minute. The positivity was short lived as Kolo Toure succumbed to his knock from Mingolet in the 28th minute, after making several solid clearances. Due to the unexpected injury, Brendan Rodgers was forced to put in Pedro Chirivella and place Emre Can back in his less comfortable spot of last season, right back. The makeshift Liverpool back line, which also saw young Joe Gomez move to center back, actually seemed to gel relatively quickly. In attack Origi again looked smart, leading defenders away in the 36th minute, but Lallana's pass to Coutinho was too close to the defender and led to nothing. Diego Rolan had several first half chances.
Lallana continued his poor form as he dribbled right into the defense and waited too long, giving away possession in an attempt to draw a foul which never came. Poor defending again popped up toward the end of the half. Khazri was allowed to slice right to the center of the field and only a poor shot right at the keeper kept the score level. As the teams traded trips up the field, Liverpool almost poached one before the break. Coutinho rang one off the woodwork, as he is want to do, but again the Brazilian looked like the most likely to score for this Reds side.
Despite the chances, it was a disappointing half again for the Reds as they failed to really put their stamp on the contest. The second 45 opened up much the same as the first half. Liverpool failed to come out of the gates strong for the second game in a row, but managed to keep it from costing them. Lallana almost turned his fortunes around with a great spin move in the 59th minute, but fired it too close to the goalkeeper. Liverpool then failed to do anything with the following corner.
A few chances were given up in between, but Lallana's chance seemed to slowly simmer the Liverpool attack as they began to build things, even if at a snails pace from that time through about ten minutes later. Finally, the maligned Adam Lallana came through after that buildup. The winger, received a pass from Alberto Moreno on the left side of the box, took it in and nutmegged the defender and coolly slotted it past the goalkeeper to the far side netting.
Danny Ings came into the contest for Origi roughly midway through the half. Ings almost made an instant impact as he was set up very similarly to Lallana and almost scored a mirror goal to Liverpool's first. Unfortunately for Ings, the angle was just a bit too narrow and that allowed Cedric Carrasso to get down and palm it away. The game calmed down a little bit following those chances, save for a few nervy moments near the Liverpool goal.
Unfortunately for the Reds, contests last 90 minutes not 80. After a late sub, taking Rossiter off, Liverpool took their foot off the gas just enough. A difficult ball to handle in the box ultimately led to a goal for Bordeaux in the 81st minute. Liverpool failed to clear the ball when it popped into the air. That allowed the French side to control the ball, juggle it a few times and then have it slide loose to Bordeaux's sub Jussie who ripped it past Mingolet. Cameron Brannagan could not really be blamed for the goal, but it did not look good on the young player to have a goal come so quickly after his insertion into the contest. Liverpool's defense continued to allow pressure for the next few minutes, seemingly unwilling to deal with any ball that went into the center of the pitch.
The game opened as wide as possible following that. Moreno had a blast toward goal directed right at the keeper. Bordeaux sent several balls close to goal that Mingolet had to get fists to. The French team also took advantage of several Liverpool turnovers to drive down field, but the finishes just were not there. Liverpool's passing looked sharp when in attack, but like their counterparts the final one was just quite there. In the end, the pressure did not crack the Liverpool defense, despite the continual backing in at the death. A valuable point was gained by the Reds and valuable experience was gained by young players and players who may need it come the dog days of a long season. As has become typical with this team, there were many disappointing moments and missed opportunities. Plenty of work remains if this is to become a team that can contend for anything, but it was a positive result and any momentum that is not negative is a good thing right now.
Random Thoughts:
- Jordan Rossiter looked decent in his starting debut. He struggled with fitness toward the end, which can be expected of someone yet to play a full 90 minutes in top competition. He did not overly impress skill wise, but I liked his intensity in challenges. Also, it's good to see someone who has come through the academy system. It's always nice to see players be brought up instead of always having to shell out money to bring them in from other teams.
- On American TV, analyst Alexi Lalas was unimpressed with Divock Origi. I slightly disagree. When on the ball he was very positive and created a few chances. He did not light the world on fire, but as time goes on it becomes more and more apparent that none of the players in the Liverpool squad are suited to play as a lone striker, so it was just as much a problem of system as anything Origi did or did not do. That said, he did disappear for stretches and needs to work at interjecting himself into the game more.
- Emre Can is a confusing player to view. There are times he uses his quickness and long stride to track down or keep up with some of the fastest players on the field. There are other times he looks labored in his movements and can appear lazy, even if this is far from true. Perhaps I over analyze his running mechanics. He is, nevertheless, a versatile player that is very valuable in the sorts of situations that pop up from time to time such as Toure's injury.
- I am of two schools of thought when it comes to Europa. I fully understand and support the need to get valuable playing time and European experience for young players and the underutilized squad. On the flip side, while top four in the league is still achievable, it would be nice to just say go for it and prove that Liverpool are still a team to contend with and go for some silverware. That said, it is understandable that the league is still the priority at this early stage.
- Despite the goal and a few flashes of attack, Liverpool continue to prove that they are unable to play with a top three that utilizes a lone striker. When Daniel Sturridge regains fitness, they must play with a top two of Benteke and Sturridge with Coutinho tucked in behind. If that means that players like Firmino or Lallana's playing time suffer as a result, so be it.
Walk On.
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