Liverpool eventually secured an easy 2-1 win over visitors Lille in the Champions League after being reduced to ten men on Tuesday, extending their unblemished record in Europe's premier club competition to seven successive victories this season.
Lille went into Tuesday's match with the bitter taste of defeat, buoyed by a 21-game unbeaten run dating back to mid-September.
The French visitors had plenty of reasons to be confident, and were encouraged by a strong start LiverpoolA fearsome front line and so are the Anfield fans. It took a moment of magic in the 34th minute for Merseyside to finally explode.
Jonathan David, Lil Always required forwardHe lost the ball deep inside Liverpool's half. Curtis Jones raced to the loose ball and threaded it through the scattered white shirts, opening up Lille and crossing for Mohamed Salah in a one-on-one with Lucas Chevalier. There will only be one winner in that duel.
It seemed as if the outcome of the entire match had been decided similarly. Liverpool rarely got out of second gear, but they didn't appear to need to, running through the second half with the swagger of a team sitting at the top of the Champions League table. A second yellow card to Lille right-back Aissa Mandi after the hour mark may have ended the game in the minds of many at Anfield.
Some Liverpool players seemed to have the same opinion, and Arne Slott's side were surprised by a low shot from Gabriel Gudmundsson. Hakon Haraldsson's effort was blocked but David was on hand to score Lille's equalizer just three minutes after being reduced to ten men.
It did not take long for the Reds to recover from the shock of conceding only their second goal UEFA Champions League Goal of the season. Harvey Elliott, one of two first-half substitutions made by Slott when Liverpool were in control of the pace, curled home a half-empty corner kick into a crowded penalty area, picking out the bottom corner via a slight deflection in the 67th minute.
Despite some flashes of threat from Lille in the closing stages, Liverpool held on to secure three points that would secure their place at the top of the Champions League table regardless of any other results from across the continent.
|
player |
Ratings |
|---|---|
|
Goalkeeper: Alison |
6.3/10 |
|
lord: Connor Bradley |
7.0/10 |
|
Capacity building: Jarrell Quansah |
7.2/10 |
|
Capacity building: Virgil van Dijk |
6.7/10 |
|
pound: Kostas Tsimikas |
7.7/10 |
|
poison: Dominik Szoboszlai |
6.5/10 |
|
poison: Ryan Gravenberch |
6.8/10 |
|
poison: Curtis Jones |
7.3/10 |
|
Ru: Mohamed Salah |
7.9/10 |
|
street: Darwin Nunez |
8.0/10 |
|
Left wing: Luis Diaz |
7.7/10 |
|
sub: Alexis McAllister (46' for Gravenberch) |
6.6/10 |
|
sub: Harvey Elliott (46' for Jones) |
7.4/10 |
|
sub: Wataru Endo (63' for Szoboszlai) |
6.2/10 |
|
sub: Federico Chiesa (75' for Diaz) |
6.2/10 |
|
sub: Trent Alexander-Arnold (86' for Bradley) |
nothing |
Subs not used: Caoimhin Kelleher (goalkeeper), Veclav Jaros (goalkeeper), Andy Robertson, Ibrahima Konate, Tyler Morton, Cody Jacobo, Jayden Dance.
|
player |
classification |
|---|---|
|
Goalkeeper: Lucas Chevalier |
7.5/10 |
|
lord: Issa Mendy |
5.2/10 |
|
Capacity building: They found Diakite |
5.9/10 |
|
Capacity building: Alexandro Ribeiro |
6.6/10 |
|
pound: Gabriel Gudmundsson |
6.3/10 |
|
poison: Ngal mokaw deer |
5.8/10 |
|
poison: Benjamin Andre |
5.9/10 |
|
I be: Haakon Haraldsson |
6.1/10 |
|
Ru: Mitchell Packer |
6.0/10 |
|
street: Jonathan David |
7.2/10 |
|
Left wing: Remy Capella |
6.8/10 |
|
sub: Thomas Meunier (63' for Packer) |
6.7/10 |
|
sub: Ousmane Sahraoui (63' for Kabia) |
6.6/10 |
|
sub: Al-Ismaily (74' for Gudmundsson) |
6.1/10 |
|
sub: Ayoub Bawadi (74' for Mocao) |
6.2/10 |
Subs not used: Marc-Aurel Caillard (goalkeeper), Vito Mannone (goalkeeper), Isaac Kosier, Angel Gomez, Ethan Mbappe, Mohamed Bayo.
