Mission Moscow ended an evening of mistakes and missed opportunities.
Liverpool visited Spartak Moscow for the second match of Champions League group play and drew with he hosts 1-1.
After a scrappy victory over Leicester at the weekend, the Reds seemed to wade back into their wobble. It was more of the same from the Merseysiders; wasted chances and errors punished.
Yet, an away draw in Europe is not calamitous nor cause for panic. Sevilla’s three goal thrashing of Maribor means that pressure will pick up for the Reds but four fixtures remain.
Lately, Liverpool like to make things harder on themselves. Easy victories are anathema to this side at the minute. While the Reds may rue their continued lack of ruthlessness, they do continue to create chances at an astonishing rate.
Over 120 shots in the last six games has yielded six goals and one win. Yet sooner or later the syncopated sputtering has to transform to red-hot rhythm.
Goals change games and falling behind, against the run of play, has become all too common of late. In European fixtures, it can elevate weaker opposition. For a home side that already was determined to play with 10 meant behind the ball from the start, an unlikely lead allowed them to play with cynical commitment.
Despite an equalizer Spartak was determined to draw and squeeze any life out of the match at every opportunity.
Here are four findings from the match.
Further Frustration
So many chances and so few taken! Liverpool’s recent attacking performances have nearly shaded their defensive deficiencies. While there have been matches that have seen the Reds reduced to long-range lashes without luck, against Spartak there was no shortage of superb possibilities spurned.
The official debut of Liverpool’s new Fab Four of Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino, and Mo Salah were far from their best.
Firmino in particular foundered on his 100th appearance for the club, struggling everywhere for his full shift. While better than the Brazilian overall, Salah faltered in front of goal even more often.
Lightning Left-side
If there were any positives to be gleaned from this fixture, Mane’s return to the left side with Coutinho and Alberto Moreno behind glimmered with promise.
While Salah provides a constant outlet with his pace on the right side, the left flank became a swirling cycle of cooperative efforts. The quickness exhibited by all three still needs tuning but offers a window to how the Reds can refine their form.
More often than not the ball found its way to the left side, where Liverpool’s best attacks were created. It is no surprise that Liverpool’s lone goal came from cover combination play at the corner of the penalty area, where Mane slipped Coutinho through for the finish.
Blunt in the Box
The lack of finish on display for the Reds recently has only served to stoke the sense of panic amongst supporters. The defensive frailties were known quantities already, which makes this profligacy all the more frustrating. This is a side that was supposed to run rampant going forward and it does but more in fits and bursts at the minute.
Mo Salah continues to provide increased threat and score goals. Yet, he also has a habit of fluffing gilt-edged chances when he could deliver the hammer blow to opposing sides. His header in the final minutes summed up a night of frustration. He was not alone, of course, Firmino faded and Daniel Sturridge snubbed chances to be the hero too. Still, it will be something to behold when the purple patch comes.
Subpar Substitution
Not for the first time Jurgen Klopp’s substitution methods caused questions. A recurring theme in the German gaffer’s in-game changes is their lateness. Every change seems 10 minutes overdue. Instead of giving players a chance to find their way into a match from the bench, their time is severely limited to impact proceedings.
In Moscow, Emre Can, playing on a yellow card for nearly all of his 73 minutes, struggled the whole night but was the last to be substituted. He probably should have been the first off. It just was not his night. On 70 minutes, Sturridge replaced Mane instead of Firmino. Aside from the Brazilian’s rare off night, the prospects of dropping Sturridge between the pace of Mane and Salah went wanting. When it is not working, the boss could benefit from speedier switches.