This encounter began in a finely poised manner, with both sides seeing plenty of the ball, and seeming content to just ease their way into the game.
In a meeting of former European cup champions in Belgrade, Liverpool were by far the favourites for the tie, given the recent decline of minnows Red Star. However it was the hosts, buoyed by the raucous atmosphere created by their fans, that created the first clear opening of the match.
Former Chelsea winger Marko Marin was set scampering down the left hand side of the pitch, and after a clever piece of skill, he cut inside and took aim at the Liverpool goal. Sadly, his shot lacked any conviction or power, and therefore ‘Reds’ keeper Alisson was able to smother the shot with ease.
After this opening for the hosts, Liverpool seemed to have fully settled into the game. The Anfield club had begun their one touch passing play, and the likes of Mo Salah and Sadio Mané were making their customary runs into the channels behind the Red Star full backs.
Many of these runs, courtesy of left winger Mané, were the source of Liverpool’s main attacking threat for the entirety of the first half.
On the first occasion the Senegalese reached the by line, he cut the ball back to midfielder James Milner, but the awkward bounce of the ball was hard for the Englishman to control, and he blasted his half volley high and wide of the Red Star net.
Soon after, Mané was at it again; this time he stopped shy of the by line to send a looping cross into the six yard box of the hosts penalty area. Unfortunately for Liverpool, Daniel Sturridge seemed to lose all sense of his composure, and therefore blasted the loose ball over the bar from around 8 yards out.
Red Star seemed to be spurred on by this continuity of their clean sheet, and so launched an offensive from the resulting goal kick. After great play down the right wing from Ben, Alisson was forced to get down quickly to parry a rasping long range drive from Jovancic.
This chance was a sign of what was to come, as from the resulting corner, Red Star would break the deadlock.
Poor marking saw striker Pavkov given the freedom of the Liverpool penalty area, and, when the cross came in, the Serb planted an emphatic header in the back of the net to send the home fans wild!
Liverpool reacted well to going behind in the tie, they resumed their passing play, and looked to get in behind the Red Star back line. Once again they passed side to side without truly penetrating the heart of the hosts’ defence, and as such, Red Star evaded any danger with ease.
In fact, it was the hosts that would secure the second goal of the game, doubling their advantage of the supposed Premier League title challengers.
The hosts built up the play from deep in their own half, with some neat interchanges from Marin and Jovancic, ensuring that the ball reached striker Milan Pavkov in the attacking third of the half. From that point on, the second goal was solely down to the brilliance of the Serbian striker.
Surrounded by Liverpool players, Pavkov did well to jink past a number of challenges, before the space opened up in front of him.
Making the most of the opportunity, Pavkov opted to unleash a wicked drive at the Liverpool goal, which soared high into the top corner, past the outstretched arm of Alisson.
The shot was a thing of beauty. Pavlov had marked a European brace in the within the space of seven minutes, when he had failed to score in any of his previous appearances in continental competition.
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Once more, Liverpool reacted well to this further setback, setting about attacking the hosts penalty area once more. Daniel Sturridge added to his already growing tally of missed chances, as for the third time in the game, he blasted the ball high and wide of the Red Star goal. The Englishman’s poor evening would culminate in being substituted at half time, as Jurgen Klopp opted to put his trust back in Roberto Firmino.
The first half would end with neither side being able to retain possession. Both teams would edge closer and closer to one another’s penalty areas, but both defensive lines were on high alert and managed to clear and intercept any oncoming danger before it became too serious.
And thus arrived the interval, with Red Star boss Vladan Milojevic beaming from ear to ear, while Jurgen Klopp was left scowling, and ruing his side’s wastefulness in front of goal.
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The second half began in frantic fashion, as the Liverpool players, having no doubt received an ear-bashing at half time, looked to make amends for their poor first half finishing. Manager Klopp was unwilling to give his existing XI time to turn things around, as he replaced Sturridge and Alexander-Arnold with Firmino and Gomez during the interval.
Red Star, with their two goal cushion, were content to sit slightly deeper in order to protect their lead. This demonstration of defensive stability was clever from the hosts coach, as he effectively nullified the visitors’ quick counter attacking game, by forcing them to control possession. In fact, Red Star would utilise the counter attack to their own advantage frequently throughout the half; most notably in the initial few minutes after half time, when an attack led to a penalty shout.
The ball had appeared to hit the hand of covering defender James Milner, but upon consideration, the referee rightly waved the claims away. The decision to award a spot kick would have been harsh given the close proximity of the Englishman to the ball at the time of the shot.
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Liverpool struggled to make any clear cut chances for the majority of the second half of this encounter. The only noteworthy moments being the hitting of the woodwork on two occasions; a cross from Robertson fortuitously looped onto the bar, while Mo Salah chipped a corner rebound onto the outside of the upright.
Yet no matter how much they switched the play from right to left, and no matter how many crosses they played into the hosts’s box, Liverpool seemed destined not to score.
In part, the lack of Liverpool goals could be credited to poor finishing, but perhaps more fairly, it should be credited to the valiant defensive display that Red Star produced.
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Into the final fifteen minutes and Liverpool had still not found a way back into the scoreline. More openings appeared, but the ‘Reds’ were either unable to connect properly with the ball, or there always seemed to be a Red Star player willing to sacrifice anything to preserve their clean sheet.
To the same degree, when the opportunity arose, the Red Star players were keen to add to their lead. A number of rapid fire counter attacks just breaking down at the last due to a poor final ball or a last ditch Liverpool tackle.
In a show of desperation, Jurgen Klopp threw on his final attacking option left on the bench, Divock Origi. The Belgian was included in the squad for the game on the sole basis that regular attacker, Xherdan Shaquiri, would be left at home due to political reasons linked to his Albanian heritage. Yet it will be questioned how badly Klopp would have wished he had brought the diminutive swiss, especially after his replacement came on to little effect.
The final stages of the game petered into desperate long range kicks into the box from Liverpool, as they hoped for a miracle to grab at least a point from the match. However it was not to be, as Red Star remained relentless in their defensive display, and managed to close out not only a historic win, but a valuable clean sheet against the pre-match favourites.
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Overall, Red Star fully deserved the victory, as they displayed a ruthless side that their visitors struggled to muster in spite of five top quality forwards having appeared for them throughout the match. In contrast, Liverpool were forced to play a more possession based game, and as such, found it difficult to break down the resolute Red Star rearguard. The loss continued the ‘Reds’ poor away form in Europe, as they add another defeat to their tally this season, after the loss away to Napoli on match day two.
And so, the moral of this particular tale (the clash of two former European champions), is that the more clinical side always wins.