Liverpool returned to the Champions League group stage after a two-year absence to play out a highly-entertaining clash against Sevilla.
The match finished 2-2 at Anfield, but that only tells some of the story in a game that had almost everything.
Dejan Lovren’s horrendous miskick to allow Wissam Ben Yedder poke home into an empty net within the first five minutes, the scene was set for a madcap evening. Roberto Firmino equalised after a fine move involving Alberto Moreno, and the turnaround was completed soon after when Mohamed Salah’s deflected shot found the net.
Firmino missed a penalty just before half-time, and it was a miss proved to be costly when Joaquin Correa broke to equalise and give the Spanish side a share of the points. In among that drama, Sevilla manager Eduardo Berizzo was sent off for throwing the ball away, Philippe Coutinho finally made his comeback from injury, Joe Gomez was handed a red card, and Sevilla almost won it at the death with a Luis Muriel chance.
There was even enough time for Jurgen Klopp to be involved in an angry exchange with the Sevilla bench after the final whistle.
Liverpool will feel that they had enough chances to end this game with all three points, but social media was happy just to be able to breathe again after all of that.
#LFC had 24 shots in total, with seven on target – two goals. Sevilla had one SoT in each half – two goals.
— Melissa Reddy (@MelissaReddy_) September 13, 2017
#LFC are cracking value to watch. Front 3 brill again and I thought Moreno played well tonight too. #LIVSEV
— Samantha Quek (@SamanthaQuek) September 13, 2017
Don’t think I can take an entire Champions League campaign like this, I’ll be honest.
— Kristian Walsh (@Kristian_Walsh) September 13, 2017
Liverpool should have been home and dry against this Sevilla team. Defending, afraid to say, the major downfall- once again.
— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) September 13, 2017
Well we never do things easily do we, this is Liverpool after all!
— LFC KNOWLEDGE (@LFCknowledge) September 13, 2017
The surprise of the night, however, was arguably the performance of Alberto Moreno – with the Spaniard putting in a fine performance on the left side of defence.
Moreno has been excellent so far.
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceEcho) September 13, 2017
All credit to Alberto Moreno for his role in the goal. Superb from the Spaniard?
— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) September 13, 2017
I think Alberto Moreno deserves some respect. He has truly transformed into a completely new player. He has been exceptional so far today ?
— Anfield Edition (@AnfieldEdition) September 13, 2017
With Spartak Moscow drawing away to Maribor the group is still very open, but Klopp will be hoping for a result to match the performance on the next matchday.
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On this week’s episode of the Mixer Irish football podcast, we’re joined by Cork City captain Johnny Dunleavy to discuss the FAI Cup semi-final draw, and look ahead to this weekend’s EA Sports Cup final between Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk.
https://soundcloud.com/punditarenairishfootball/cork-city-captain-johnny-dunleavy-chats-to-us-following-the-fai-cup-draw
Read More About: alberto moreno, Champions League, dejan lovren, jurgen klopp, Liverpool, mohamed salah, sevilla
