Liverpool’s Champions League campaign rocked after shock defeat by Red Star Belgrade
Few clubs know the potential of a hostile atmosphere on a European night better than Liverpool, yet at the Rajko Mitic Stadium on Tuesday night, Red Star Belgrade gave Jurgen Klopp‘s side a bitter taste of their own medicine.
Liverpool’s hopes of progressing to the knock-out stages this year were severely damaged by two unanswered Milan Pavkov goals in the space of seven first-half minutes which gave Red Star their most famous victory in continental competition since winning the European Cup in 1991.
Klopp’s players simply had no answer to a side unrecognisable from the one which lost 4-0 at Anfield a fortnight ago and, crucially, was buoyed by a hostile home crowd. Red Star’s last defeat on this ground was over a year ago. The Rajko Mitic is a fortress they invariably defend.
Red Star vs Liverpool player ratings
1/11 Alisson – 6
2/11 Trent Alexander-Arnold – 5
3/11 Virgil Van Dijk – 5
4/11 Joel Matip – 5
5/11 Andy Robertson – 7
6/11 James Milner – 6
7/11 Adam Lallana – 6
8/11 Georginio Wijnaldum – 5
9/11 Mohamed Salah – 6
10/11 Sadio Mane – 6
11/11 Daniel Sturridge – 5
1/11 Alisson – 6
2/11 Trent Alexander-Arnold – 5
3/11 Virgil Van Dijk – 5
4/11 Joel Matip – 5
5/11 Andy Robertson – 7
6/11 James Milner – 6
7/11 Adam Lallana – 6
8/11 Georginio Wijnaldum – 5
9/11 Mohamed Salah – 6
10/11 Sadio Mane – 6
11/11 Daniel Sturridge – 5
The defeat is one Klopp will not have expected. With a trip to Paris Saint-Germain next in Group C, followed by a visit from Napoli at Anfield, to take three points was deemed vital. To take nothing back to Merseyside is damaging. Napoli’s goalless draw here in the opening round of fixture, derided at the time, now seems a useful result.
The Rajko Mitic greeted the Liverpool players during their warm-up with a bit of call and response – one end provided “Fuck you”, the other “Liverpool”. The crowd then chanted the same in unison as Klopp’s players left the pitch, though any mounting sense of menace was spoiled by the club mix of Abba’s ‘Gimme, Gimme, Gimme’ that followed.
Yet by kick-off, and as Liverpool had made their way down this stadium’s long underground tunnel – their journey displayed to the crowd via the big screen – they could be forgiven for suddenly feeling intimidated. They certainly started as if scared and Red Star fed off this fear.
Right-back Filip Stojkovic was rallying the crowd upon the breakdown of play as early as the third minute. He and his team-mates were assertive and assured of themselves, everything a sloppy and error-ridden Liverpool were not. Vujadin Savic, their captain, came closest to an opener, glancing an effort past the left-hand post on the turn.
The night may have taken a different course had Daniel Sturridge, selected ahead of Roberto Firmino, converted an early, gilt-edged opportunity instead of lifting the ball clear of the bar. Red Star’s goal was gaping after Sadio Mané and Andrew Robertson’s combination down the left.
A Liverpool goal would not have truly reflected the balance of play in those opening stages however, and it was not long before Red Star established a deserved lead. An attempt from range by El Fardou Ben Nabouhane was only parried by Alisson and on the resulting corner, Pavkov evaded notice until nodding home.
It was the sort of set-piece goal Klopp’s Liverpool were once renowned for conceding, one that Virgil van Dijk’s arrival had supposedly solved, but the world’s most expensive defender was left beaten by Pavkov’s run from deep. Adam Lallana had passed the Red Star striker on without ensuring another Liverpool player could receive him.
Here was the crescendo the Rajko Mitic had been building towards, the crowd erupting in low, triumphant bellow. A Red Star substitute joined the celebrations on the pitch, leading referee Antoino Mateu Lahoz to remind him of conduct and, presumably, that it was still just the 22nd minute.
Pavkov, though, would inflict further damage before the half-hour mark. Milner’s loss of possession in midfield was costly, allowing Marko Marin to quickly break and lay-off Pavkov. The scorer of Red Star’s first brushed Georgino Wijnaldum away, checked his run back inside then fired at some 30 yards. Alisson, flat-footed, moved too late to stop it.
Klopp often looked incandescent on the touchline during a dismal first half and made his frustrations clear at the break, replacing Sturridge with Firmino and taking Trent Alexander-Arnold off for Joe Gomez.
Liverpool improved, if only because Red Star now sought to protect a lead rather than establish one, but their play was still devoid of its usual fluency and littered with careless mistakes, whether it was Mané dribbling the ball out of play on the touchline or several players slipping on the surface underfoot.
Klopp may look to the statistics, note Liverpool’s 23 shots to Red Star’s 10, and attempt to mount a defence of the performance. To do so would be unwise. The great volume of attempts did not make up their lack of quality.
The best opportunity, bar Sturridge’s, came in stoppage time and fell to Mohamed Salah, who should have ended his muted evening with a goal. The attempt, though, was rushed, slightly scuffed and easily held. There would not even be a consolation.
For last year’s runners-up, this year’s round of 16 suddenly looks a long way off.
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