In a season that is perhaps more promising than liverpool has hoped for at this stage, this dead-rubber loss to a much-changed and youthful side will do little to mean anything.
With a carabao cup quarter-final scheduled next week, the reds are both premier league leaders and one of the firm favorites for the europa league in mid-december.
Although liverpool’s 2-1 loss to union saint-gilloise will be remembered, the elusive feeling of being a team that has been built on focusing on the here, the now, and the very next game has vanished, and while the average age of the team was 22 years and 156 days, there were a few subplots that may have piqued the players’ interest further down the line.
And how heartening it was to see kaide gordon return to a liverpool shirt after almost two years since his last appearance.
Gordon gordon was the reds’ youngest-ever scorer in the fa cup at 16 years and 96 days in january 2022, but his long-awaited return must be seen through a wider and more promising lens.
This is how this game should be seen from a perspective of a team whose progress to the last 16 of europe’s premier competition sees them enter the new year as one of the competition’s best.
After joel matip pulled up with a season-ending injury earlier this month, some eyebrows were raised, but there was reason behind the call to start ibrahima konate next to quansah, if only for 45 minutes.
Konate has a chance to grasp his opportunity with both hands and resurrect his burgeoning reputation, even though the loss to his colleague will be difficult for everyone in the squad, considering the 32-year-old matip’s absence on merseyside. After caoimhin kelleher made a few good saves to keep it goalless, the reds were undone when mohamed amoura apparently beat the offside trap before rounding the irish keeper and converting.
A quick look at the replay showed that the usg forward was fortunate to see the goal stand. “who cares?” he asks. With trent alexander-arnold, alisson becker, mohamed salah, and virgil van dijk all at home, and dominik szoboszlai and luis diaz all at home, most should be feeling refreshed for sunday’s matchup with united. This should be the main takeaway from this trip to belgium. Puertas thought he had made it 3-1 after the hour mark, only to be dismissed for a handball by lazare amani. In calum scanlon and darwin nunez, klopp introduced another teenager in the break in action.
Liverpool continued to huff and puff, but it was to be a famous european scalp for the belgian league leaders, who celebrated in front of their supporters for a long time after the final whistle, while the bulk of klopp’s big guns rested for the weekend. This week and the rest of the campaign have much bigger fish to fry.
