Liverpool vs. FC Sion: Winners and Losers from Europa League Game

Liverpool endured a frustrating night in the UEFA Europa League, drawing 1-1 at home to Swiss side FC Sion on Thursday at Anfield.

Adam Lallana struck in just the fourth minute to give the Reds an early lead, but Ebenezer Assifuah equalized in the 18th minute to give Sion a share of the points.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers made seven changes to his squad and deployed his players in a 3-5-2 formation. Following the disappointing result, the pressure on Rodgers will only increase.

"The result was disappointing considering the number of chances we created," Rodgers told BBC Sport. "We worked well and had a good start but gave away a disappointing goal. The players worked hard but we couldn't score the goals. You have to be clinical."

Here, B/R selects winners and losers from Thursday's match.

Winner (Sort Of): Adam Lallana

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Adam Lallana scored for the second time in as many Europa League matches. After starting the sequence with a headed flick (that had a strong hint of offside) to Divock Origi, the England international continued his run into the box, put himself in a perfect position to score and applied a deceptively simple finish from close range.

That was the good news. The bad news was that Lallana missed another great chance in the second half and flitted in and out of the game. 

Lallana clearly has considerable quality. Not for the first time, however, the £25 million man struggled to show it consistently against Sion.

At ESPN FC, Richard Jolly noted:

"

Lallana, who had struck in Bordeaux a fortnight earlier, is becoming a fixture on the scoresheet. Thus far this season, he has struck in the Europa League but is essentially a £25 million second-string player. One with his price tag ought to determine such encounters but he faded after a fine start, and Sion could count themselves unfortunate when he scored.

"

As ever, the challenge for Lallana is to reproduce his best moments regularly. If he could do so, he would undoubtedly be one of Liverpool's most influential attackers.

Winner and Loser: Divock Origi

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Divock Origi set up the opening goal with a powerful burst into the box and a smart pullback to Adam Lallana. Throughout the match, the Belgian troubled Sion's defense with his strength, speed and ability to sniff out a chance.

Unfortunately for Origi, he wasn't able to convert any of those chances. If the 20-year-old had finished any of the several opportunities he encountered in both halves, he would have been a match-winner and perhaps his side's player of the night.

Loser: Brendan Rodgers

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Thursday's draw left Liverpool with only two points from their first two matches in Group B. That isn't the end of the world, of course. In making seven changes to his side of Sion's visit, Reds boss Brendan Rodgers showed that his priority is this weekend's clash with Merseyside rivals Everton.

And yet, it was a wholly uninspiring performance, both from players and manager. Rodgers deployed multiple players out of position, and the result was a disjointed team that failed to play an attractive brand of football. 

In a scathing summary of the match, the Liverpool Echo's James Pearce wrote:

"

(I)f beating Villa provided some cherished breathing space for manager Brendan Rodgers, here was a reminder about the unrest and frustration which continues to surround his stuttering Anfield reign.

…

Here was a largely second string Liverpool side playing in a second rate European competition against sub-standard opposition. And toiling badly.

If Rodgers was hoping his fringe stars would step up and stake a claim ahead of Sunday's Merseyside derby he was sadly mistaken.

Nobody put themselves in contention for the trip across Stanley Park. Nobody did themselves justice.

"

Yes, this was a second-string Liverpool, but they were facing a team that's currently fifth in the Swiss Super League. A team that lost to a club from Liechtenstein at the weekend. Liverpool should have done better.

After another disappointing result—and performance—by Liverpool, the pressure continues to mount on Rodgers. At this point, surely the manager is on the hot seat at Anfield.

Losers: Nathaniel Clyne, Joe Gomez and Jordon Ibe

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The match started so well for Liverpool. Adam Lallana scored in only the fourth minute, and the hosts quickly had control of the game.

An easy win seemed inevitable, but a series of miscues led to Sion's equalizer—and eventually two dropped points.

First, Nathaniel Clyne gave away possession. As Xavier Kouassi lifted an angled pass over Liverpool's defense, Joe Gomez stepped up from the back line and thus himself out of position. Then Jordon Ibe—playing left wing-back opposite Clyne—tried frantically to race back and catch Ebenezer Assifuah, who had slipped his attentions.

All three were at fault for the goal, and it turned out to be a costly series of errors.

Winners: Sion

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There can be no question about it. Sion will be the happier side after the draw.

Through two games, the Swiss club sits atop Group B with four points, two clear of both Liverpool and Bordeaux. And this is after Sion made what most would consider their toughest trip of the group stage—to Anfield.

Liverpool created several chances to win the game in the second half, but it would be harsh to say Sion didn't deserve a point. The hosts labored fruitlessly for most of the match after the equalizer, and in the end, a draw was a fair result.

And it will have suited Sion just fine.