Having secured top spot in Group E two weeks ago, and with a pair of hugely important fixtures coming up in their domestic league, Liverpool were never going to go full tilt into the final match of the group stage, while Union St. Gilloise had it all to play for, relying on a LASK win to give themselves a shot at qualifying for the next stage, and as such, odds were always in the home side’s favour to anybody willing to looks past the names on the crests.
That proved a reliable prediction, as the Belgians were comfortably the better side all night, and ran out deserved winners, where the one-goal margin flattered the young visitors in red.
Below, then, we dig into some of the winners, losers and narratives on the night.
Winners
Minute Management: The Reds traveled light to Belgium, with Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker and Trent Alexander-Arnold not even making the trip, the four perhaps most crucial players of Jürgen Klopp’s current Liverpool team instead staying back on Merseyside to prepare for the weekend’s fixture with historic rivals Manchester United. Ibrahima Konaté and Wataru Endō were subbed at the half in a clearly pre-planned move. Darwin Núñez played for half and hour. Kostas Tsimikas, Dominik Szoboszlai and Luis Díaz didn’t take the pitch at all.
In other words, the game was about managing players’ minutes heading into what is a crucial game not just in terms of bragging rights, but also maintaining top spot in the Premier League table as the season nears its halfway point. In that respect, the trip was a success.
Opening the Account: Having been conned out of his debut goal at Toulouse, Jarell Quansah got his first ever senior bucket tonight, blasting a loose ball into the back of the net as it dropped following a corner. It was a tremendous finish from the young centre-back who also stood out among the team’s best performers on the night in general.
Losers
The Yutes: In most other respects, however, this was a very bad game from the Reds. Going into the match with the youngest ever starting XI in the club’s European history naturally suggested a win might be a tall task against a highly competent and supremely motivated opponent, but it would have been nice to see more from the Baby Reds.
Through 90 minutes, Union St. Gilloise were quicker, stronger, more coherent and more decisive in every aspect, dominating their guests in a performance that would have deserved a wider scoreline. The Belgians took 15 shots to Liverpool’s four, despite only 31% of possession, bypassing the Reds’ press at will and transitioining with ease.
While their first goal had a whiff of offside about it — and a freeze frame of the decision was never shows on the broadcast — the hosts could have easily scored another hatful, with Caoimín Kelleher making a pair of excellent saves from big chances.
The kids simply weren’t up to the task. Which in and of itself is fine, given the stakes of the match, and it’s always fun to watch the youngsters give it a go in a game that doesn’t matter, but it would have been nice to see some coherence and ability to compete physically.
The Vets: With that said, the senior — and the term is used very loosely here — players featuring on the night didn’t cover themselves in glory either. Captain Curtis Jones was characteristically ponderous on the ball, coughing up possession in dangerous areas on a number of occasions and failing to make committed recovery runs in transition, even when nominally playing as the six in the second half. Harvey Elliott struggled to be the playmaker he can be without runners in front. Cody Gakpo barely got on the ball and offered little to no attacking threat. Neither Ryan Gravenberch, Joe Gomez or Darwin Núñez were able to make much of an impact with their cameos.
All in all, the Reds looked a disjointed and only partially motivated side shorn of its best talent. This was likely always going to be the case given the personnel, and expectations of realistic fans were always going to be relative modest going into the game, but the players did not exceed those projections.
Refereeing as a Profession: It’s just broken at this point. Never mind VAR, referees refusing to penalise foul play is a blight on the sport and the practice of just letting fouls go being promoted by football and refereeing associations both domestically and internationally is only going to further ruin the careers of talented young players.
USG committed 17 fouls on the night — in addition to at least half a dozen that simply weren’t called — and received a single booking. Kaide Gordon, back from two years missed through injury, was fouled five times, as the home side were made aware that they could simply hack him down and face no consequences if they were unable to reach the ball.
What Happens Next
The league leaders host arch rivals Manchester United on Sunday, in the last fixture of the match week, and as such, may need a win to get back on top, or to increase their lead on the chasing pack. Last time the teams met should be fresh in the memory of any Liverpool fan — you’ve watched the highlights a dozen times on youtube since — as the Reds trounced Erik ten Hag’s men 7-0 at Anfield back in March.
An historic opponent with a manager under pressure and the Reds flying in the league? This can realistically only end in one of two ways. Cross your everything it’s the good one.
