Liverpool vs. Bordeaux: Winners and Losers from Europa League Game
Liverpool secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Bordeaux on Thursday night to seal their passage to the UEFA Europa League round-of-32 stage.
A rather ridiculous mistake by Simon Mignolet gifted the visitors the lead midway through the first half, but the Reds immediately responded via a James Milner penalty.
Christian Benteke completed the comeback shortly after with a thumping effort from 18 yards. "He's always there to score a goal and hold ball up. He can do that. We are pleased with result," Mignolet told BT Sport after the game.
Here, B/R picks its winners and losers from the game.
Loser: Simon Mignolet, Liverpool
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It’s an open secret that Liverpool fans aren’t entirely happy with the fact that Mignolet is their club’s No. 1 goalkeeper, and it seems as though the club are looking at their options.
Timo Horn is one of a number of players linked to the club, per German website Sportal.de (via Metro's Will Giles), as the media anticipates a January search for a new option.
That puts Mignolet firmly under the microscope, so the ludicrous mistake he made against Bordeaux on Thursday—holding onto the ball for more than 20 seconds and conceding an indirect free-kick as a result—becomes all the more unforgivable.
Henri Saivet smashed home the opener from the set piece, punishing the rather ridiculous error and placing Mignolet in hot water despite the win.
Winner: Kolo Toure, Liverpool
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“Kolo Toure very solid tonight. A rare 90-minute run-out without getting injured but showed his value—good covering, some strong challenges,” B/R’s Karl Matchett tweeted as the game came to a close.
With Mamadou Sakho out until 2016, Liverpool are light in the centre-back area and are facing up to the reality of trusting two of Toure, Dejan Lovren and Martin Skrtel for the foreseeable future. On paper, that's an underwhelming selection to choose from, but if Toure can continue in this vein, he could be a major factor in the weeks to come.
He won several key challenges on the ground to stop counter-attacks and brought the ball out of defence in possession very well.
Loser: Lamine Sane, Bordeaux
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Bordeaux struggled to contain Liverpool’s forward players despite them flattering to deceive at times, and chief among the culprits in terms of mistakes was Lamine Sane.
Christian Benteke easily shoved him aside just before the Belgian struck home from outside the box, and Sane gave away the penalty after wrapping his arms around the same player and hauling him to the floor.
On a night where Bordeaux needed to be defensively perfect to grind anything out, Sane committed several high-profile errors and his team paid the price.
Winner: Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool
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Pre-Jurgen Klopp, all Liverpool had done was draw in the Europa League. His first game in charge (against Rubin Kazan) also ended in a share of the spoils. As his reign has gathered steam, though, the Reds have begun turning in better performances and securing three-point hauls.
The win over Bordeaux, claimed despite Mignolet's error making their task all the more difficult, has ensured Liverpool will qualify for the Round of 32 come February.
It's clear that Klopp has energised his side for Thursday nights and instilled a belief that this competition is to be taken seriously.
Loser: Roberto Firmino, Liverpool
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After he combined with Philippe Coutinho to decimate Manchester City, many expected Roberto Firmino to put Bordeaux to the sword at Anfield on Thursday evening. Those people were left bitterly disappointed.
The Reds took a long while to get going in attack, and Firmino was never really a part of it. In a game he should have been dictating and dominating, he was an absolute after-thought, with James Milner, Christian Benteke and even Joe Allen making more of an impact in the final third.
He was substituted in the second half, and fans will hope he has more of a say in matters at the weekend against Swansea City.
