LIVERPOOL 2-0 UNION SAINT-GILLOISE: Goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Diogo Jota either side of half-time earned Jurgen Klopp’s side a routine victory over their Belgian opponents
Ryan Gravenberch’s first Liverpool goal helped earn a 1-0 win over Union Saint-Gilloise
Liverpool bounced back from last weekend’s controversial defeat at Tottenham to beat Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise 2-0 in the Europa League.
The Reds dominated the first-half and should have taken the lead early on through Darwin Nunez but he somehow fired wide from close range. However, Klopp’s side took the lead in the 44th minute as Ryan Gravenberch took advantage from a goalkeeping error to slot home his first Liverpool goal.
Union started the second period brightly and came close to levelling after Alisson spilled a corner but it was cleared off the line by Jarell Quansah. Liverpool had to survive a late scare from Alexander Blessin’s visitors, but managed to score a second in injury-time as Diogo Jota calmly struck to secure all three points at Anfield.
Here are five talking points from the game.
1. Embarrassing Nunez miss
Klopp could not quite believe it when Nunez put the ball wide after he missed a gilt-edge first-half chance, when it arguably looked easier to score. The Uruguayan should have scored in the 17th minute after Mohamed Salah squared the ball across the edge of the six-yard box, but, remarkably, Nunez fired wide.
It was a quite incredible miss from the 24-year-old, who seemingly tok his eye off the ball as the goal was gaping, following Salah’s neat cut-back. The incident came a matter of minutes after Nunez thought he had given Liverpool the lead as he tapped home from close range, only for the offside flag to be raised.
Darwin Nunez missed a glaring chance to score against Union Saint-Gilloise (
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2. Gravenberch’s first goal
After coming close to opening his account earlier in the game, Gravenberch scored his first Liverpool goal on the stroke of half-time. It was a gift for the Dutchman, who followed up to strike from a few yards out, after Alexander-Arnold’s long-range effort was spilled by Anthony Moris.
Gravenberch has made an impressive start to life at Anfield following his summer move from Bayern Munich - and he put in another imposing performance against Union. The Dutchman almost scored another during the second half but was denied following a fine save from Moris. He played up until the 78th minute before being taken off for Dominik Szoboszlai.
Ryan Gravenberch celebrates after scoring his first Liverpool goal (
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Getty Images)
3. Quansah takes his opportunity
Having spent the second-half of last season on loan at Bristol Rovers, not many would have expected Jarell Quansah to have quite the impact he has had at the start of this season. The 19-year-old excelled after being thrown in for his debut against Newcastle in August, and he has not looked back.
Quansah shone on his first Liverpool start at Wolves last month, and also grabbed his maiden Reds assist in the recent 3-1 win over Leicester. The England under-20 international was handed another chance to impress after being handed his full Europa League debut against Union - and he took the opportunity with both hands.
The centre-back produced a superb performance and didn’t put a foot wrong as Liverpool kept their first clean sheet in six matches since before the last international break.
Jarell Quansah impressed for Liverpool against Union Saint-Gilloise (
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Getty Images)
4. Mac Allister brothers reunite
It was an emotional night at Anfield for the Mac Allister family after Kevin Mac Allister and Alexis Mac Allister went head-to-head for the first time in their careers. Kevin started on the right side of a back-three for Union, while Alexis began on what was a strong bench for the Reds.
But the duo would be reunited when Alexis was introduced at half-time for Waturo Endo. Father Carlos Mac Allister, who was in attendance, appeared to be in a joyous mood after Alexis came on - and again as Kevin was taken off for ex-Accrington Stanley star Ross Sykes late on.
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5. Reds bounce back
Following last Saturday’s controversial 2-1 defeat at Tottenham, Klopp would have been hoping for a response from his side against the current Belgian Pro League leaders. Liverpool dominated the first-half and should have scored more than once before the interval, with Nunez and Salah guilty of missing chances.
But goals from Gravenberch and Jota ended up being the difference between the Reds and Union at Anfield, as Klopp’s side continued their perfect start to Group E in the Europa League. Focus will now turn to Sunday’s trip to Brighton, who were in European action themselves on Thursday, as they drew 2-2 at Marseille.
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