Sevilla slice through a shaky Liverpool rearguard as another sluggish defensive performance proves to be the Achilles heel yet again as the home side are held to a 2-2 draw with Sevilla. Jurgen Klopp’s men failed to capitalize on a promising first half display with a second half equalizer from Correa meaning the Reds have to wait for their first group stage win.
The Merseyside outfit couldn’t have started the game worse as Klopp’s side were behind in the first five minutes. A simple pass across the face of the goal cut open the Liverpool back four, Dejan Lovren failed to clear in his lines and the ball landed at the feet of Ben Yedder, who had the easy task of converting from close range.
The home side reacted positively to that early setback finding an equalizer just after the 20-minute mark. Klopp had stressed the hardest thing to defend is pace and Liverpool had bags of it as drew level with clever intricate play. A give and go between Henderson and Moreno pierced open Sevilla’s back four and the Spaniard’s decisive pass was turned home by Roberto Firmino.
Liverpool was in the ascendancy after that leveler on the 21st-minute mark with Mohammed Salah giving them the lead eight minutes from the interval. The Egyptian won the ball the back after his initial abject pass gave the ball away, drilled a low shot which took a major reflection leaving the Sevilla shot stopper helpless. Roberto Firmino had the opportunity to extend his side’s lead but failed to convert from the spot after Mane was dragged down in the penalty area moments before.
After the break, Liverpool was complacent and it felt inevitable that if Klopp’s team couldn't find a third, they would be punished by the visitors. The all too familiar sight of throwing away three points reared its ugly head yet again, shambolic defending from the Lovren gifted the ball to Correa whose composed finish gave Karius no chance.
The frustration was fuelled further as Liverpool were reduced to ten men in consecutive games, Joe Gomez was sent off for a second bookable offense and the Reds were left with egg on their faces taking one point, instead of a deserved three.
This appeared to be the perfect game to resurrect that elusive spirit after the 5-0 thrashing away to City, but the wait goes on with many hoping that the Burnley game will turn their fortunes around, otherwise it’s to be a very difficult next five games before the international break.