Photo Credit: Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images Europe-Zimbio
Win and you are in. Simple enough, right? That seemed to be the theory for Liverpool (2-3-0, 9 points) on Tuesday night at Sevilla (2-2-1, 8 points) with a spot in the knockout stage in the UEFA Champions League on the line. But after a 3-3 draw against the La Liga side on Tuesday night there are more questions than answers for Jurgen Klopp as play in Group E winds down.
Liverpool still sit at the top of Group E with a point advantage over Sevilla and three points ahead of Spartak Moscow. Liverpool will face Moscow at home on December 6th with NetBet Sport giving the side from Anfield favorable odds to go through. Sevilla (1-3-1, 4 points) will face Maribor (0-2-3, 3 points) in Sweden. The top two sides in the group will advance to the knockout stage of the Champions League while third place will transfer over to the Europa League
Things seemed to be going in the right direction for Jurgen Klopp’s side on Tuesday night after Lucas Firmino and Sadio Mane gave the visitor’s an early three goal advantage. Firmino’s goals would come in the second and thirty-fourth minutes, respectively. His two goals brought his total in Champions League play to five. The Brazilian international would also set up Mane (30′) for his lone goal on the evening and his first in Europe this season.
But the second was a different story for The Reds. In the 51st minute Wissam Ben Yedder would put Sevilla on the board with a header off of a free kick from midfielder Ever Banega. The French youth international would prove to be quite the nuisance in the box for the Liverpool defense all through the second half, earning a penalty just nine minutes later on a foul from Alberto Moreno. Ben Yedder would slot home his six goal of the competition with a low effort past a diving Loris Karius.
Set pieces would continue to haunt Liverpool late when in extra time Guido Pizzaro would nail home the equalizer off a corner kick. The draw gives Sevilla new hope ahead of a match against a Maribor side that has already been eliminated from the competition.
As for Liverpool Tuesday’s loss mirrors a similar effort that the side produced in Sevilla last year in the Europa League final. Much like in this match Liverpool led at the half against a Sevilla side that knows their way around an European fixture (they have won the last three Europa League titles). But just like last May the Liverpool defense cracked in the second half, making several careless mistakes and allowing a dangerous Sevilla to pounce on set pieces. While the December 6th match might not be the end of Klopp’s journey in Europe this season it will provide a large indication as to what their defense can do in a match of some consequence.
