As you might have guessed, Jürgen Klopp thoroughly upset Liverpool’s team compared to the meeting that ended with a 3-1 victory against Wolverhampton. So much so that every player from the starting team at that time found themselves on the bench in the match against LASK, including Dominik Szoboszlai. At the same time, there were plenty of stars on the pitch, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté, Luis Díaz and Darwin Núnez also played for the Reds.
In addition to other Liverpool stars, Dominik Szoboszlai also found himself on the bench Photo: EPA/Anna Szilágyi
We couldn’t say that Liverpool ran down their opponent, in the first ten minutes the teams just tasted each other. Thus, the first goal really came out of nowhere: after a corner from Linz, Florian Flecker put the ball on the goal from a distance, and his powerful shot found its way between so many legs into the bottom right corner (1-0).
The conceded goal shook the visitors a bit, but they could not create any dangerous situations until the 37th minute. After a corner, Núnez headed into the goal from two meters away, but Tobias Lawal was able to save with an unearthly feat, LASK thus surprisingly took a 1-0 lead at the break against Klopp’s guard.
The match continued without a substitution, and Liverpool immediately pitched a tent in the home team’s half. The Reds’ efforts soon paid off. Philipp Ziereis clipped Díaz’s leg, Núnez confidently converted the awarded penalty (1-1).
Linz then attacked with great enthusiasm for the equalizing goal, and then it was their loss. After one of the home team’s huge jumps, Liverpool faltered, Ryan Gravenberch’s pass from the right was sent by Díaz from close range into the goal (1-2).
Even Dominik Szoboszlai could see this up close, because Klopp sent the Hungarian midfielder on the field together with Joe Gomez and Alexis MacAlister in the 60th minute. Mohamed Szalah came on for the last quarter of an hour, and the Egyptian winger breathed life into the English team’s game, setting up the 3-1 final result in the 88th minute after a nice series of tricks.
Thus, Klopp’s plan worked to the fullest: even with Liverpool’s key players resting, they presented themselves with a victory in the Europa League.
Europa Leaguegroup stage, group E, round 1:
LASK (Austria)–Liverpool (England) 1-3 (1-0)
scorers: Flecker (14th), or Núnez (56th, from 11), Díaz (63rd), Szalah (88th)
In the other match of the group: Royale Union SG (Belgium) – Toulouse (France) 1-1 (0-1)
Other results, group F:
Panathinaikos (Greece)-Villarreal (Spain) 2-0 (1-0)
Rennes (France)–Maccabi Haifa (Israel) 3-0
Group G:
Servette (Switzerland)–Slavia Praha (Czech Republic) 0-2 (0-1)
Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova) – AS Roma (Italy) 1-2 (0-1)
Group H:
Leverkusen (Germany)–Häcken (Sweden) 4-0 (2-0)
Qarabag (Azerbaijan)–Molde (Norway) 1-0 (0-0)
Cover photo: Darwin Núnez celebrates Liverpool’s equalizer (Photo: EPA/Anna Szilágyi)
2023-09-22 22:45:41
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