Jurgen Klopp's Europa League approach and early match expectations
Posted : 22 September 2023
Former Liverpool player Stevie Nicol discusses Jurgen Klopp's approach to the Europa League and what fans can expect in the early matches of the competition.
On Thursday, Liverpool made their return to the Europa League after an eight-year absence. They faced LASK Linz and, after initially trailing 1-0 due to a splendid goal from Florian Flecker, managed to secure a 3-1 victory in Austria.
Jurgen Klopp made significant changes to the lineup, with Colombian forward Luis Díaz among the 11 alterations compared to the team that triumphed 3-1 against Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday. Díaz played a pivotal role in the second-half comeback.
Díaz drew a crucial penalty after being fouled by Philipp Ziereis, leading to Darwin Núñez converting from the spot in the 56th minute. Díaz himself added to the scoresheet seven minutes later, brilliantly finishing a low cross from Ryan Gravenberch.
Gravenberch, a recent signing from Bayern Munich, made his full debut for Liverpool. Klopp also gave 17-year-old Scottish winger Ben Doak his first start in a Liverpool shirt.
Unfortunately, an injury forced Gravenberch to be substituted in the second half, but his replacement, Mohamed Salah, sealed the victory for Liverpool with an 88th-minute goal, courtesy of an impressive assist from Núñez.
This Europa League appearance marked Liverpool's return to the competition after missing out on the Champions League due to a disappointing fifth-place finish in the Premier League last season. It harks back to Klopp's early years at Anfield when he first took charge of the club.
In another Group E match, Union St.-Gilloise, last season's quarter-finalists, managed to salvage a 1-1 draw at home against Toulouse.
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