Player ratings as Union Saint-Gilloise defeats Liverpool 2-1 in the Europa League

In the Europa League, Liverpool fell to Union Saint-Gilloise 2-1.

Despite being the group winners, Jurgen Klopp selected a primarily youthful team for the match in Belgium, yet the Reds nevertheless advanced to the round of sixteen.

Player ratings as Union Saint-Gilloise defeats Liverpool 2-1 in the Europa League

 

Liverpool lost against Union Saint-Gilloise on Thursday night in the Europa League, but they nevertheless advanced as group winners and saw their spot guaranteed prior to kickoff.

 

Union, who defeated LASK to finish third in the final standings, will go with their season in the Europa Conference League thanks to goals from Mohamed Amoura and Cameron Puertas.

Although Jarell Quansah had tied the score for Liverpool in the interim, the Reds’ performance was unimpressive overall, and Union may have had a better chance to win by a few more points.

 

The course of the game

When it came to Liverpool, the match was not fun to watch. The Reds held the majority of the possession early on, but it was somewhat telling that Union was struggling to stay in Europe and that Jurgen Klopp’s heavily rotated team had nothing to play for.

Union was trying hard to take the lead as Liverpool was barely able to muster a shot for the whole of the first half, however most of their efforts were not troubling Caoimhin Kelleher. Just over thirty minutes had passed when Amoura’s goal arrived, as the forward finished a countermove from a few yards away.

 

In the waning moments of the first half, Quansah scored off a corner kick by Curtis Jones, marking Liverpool’s first attempt of the game, whether it was on target or not. However, Puertas’ shot from the edge of the box put Union back ahead, thus parity didn’t even last until the half.

Union were encouraged by defeating Liverpool, who were unable to produce any goals, despite having to play the match at Anderlecht’s stadium rather than their own because of UEFA regulations. Union even had a chance to score a third when Puertas beat the defenseless Kelleher with a shot after Quansah’s mishandled header gave the Belgians the ball. A handball in the build-up was detected by VAR.

 

For a little while, it appeared as though Liverpool would suddenly pick up steam, especially after Klopp introduced Darwin Nunez into the match during the VAR check delay. However, Union kept having opportunities; Kelleher was called into action twice, and Amoura gave Gustaf Nilsson a fantastic chance to end the match that the Swedish

 

As the game entered its last minutes, Kelleher again clawed the ball away from replacement Dennis Eckert, and Union still appeared to be the team most likely to score the next goal. Only Liverpool’s second shot of the evening, Ryan Gravenberch, having forced Anthony Moris into his first save of the evening moments earlier. In the 95th minute, a final stoppage by Moris completed the historic Union victory.

 

Player ratings for Liverpool (4-3-3)

GK: 7/10 Caoimhin Kelleher would have begun even if Alisson had been present. made a couple of stops in the second half that helped to limit the deficit.

 

Conor Bradley, right-back, received a 5/10 for attempting to advance the ball but losing it a bit too easily.

 

CB: Ibrahima Konate, who played just 45 minutes, received a 5/10.

 

CB: Jarell Quansah – 6/10 – Not only did he score Liverpool’s equalizer at a corner, but he was also partially responsible for the Reds’ second-half deficit following a subpar header.

 

Luke Chambers, LB, 4/10 A very difficult evening for the 19-year-old.

 

Harvey Elliott, CM: 6/10 It was not as though he was trying to force things to happen as it appeared.

 

CM: Wataru Endo – 6/10 – Accurately passed, although after halftime, he left in favor of a more active presence.

Curtis Jones, the center, had possession of the ball and scored a 6/10, but things went south from there. Nonetheless, set up Quansah’s corner kick for the equalizer.

 

RW: 5/10 for Kaide Gordon In 75 minutes, only 24 ball touches. Significant encounter.

 

Cody Gakpo, ST: 5/10 Almost not at all in the game because of his team’s lack of imagination.

 

LW: Ben Doak – 5/10 – Showed promise with a few dribbles, but in the end, he didn’t take full advantage of the chance.

 

Joe Gomez (46′ for Konate) as a substitute; score of 5/10

 

Ryan Gravenberch (46′ for Endo) as the substitute

 

SUB: Darwin Nunez – 6/10 (63′ for Doak)

 

SUB: Chambers’ 63-foot Callum Scanlon – 5/10

 

James McConnell, substitute (75′ for Gordon) – 6.