Union Saint-Gilloise 2-1 Liverpool: Europa League group stage ends with loss for Reds
- Published
- comments
Jarell Quansah scored his first Liverpool goal in his 12th appearance for the club
Already-qualified Liverpool ended their Europa League group campaign with an away defeat in Belgium against Union Saint-Gilloise.
Jurgen Klopp's youthful Reds side fell behind in the 32nd minute when Mohamed Amoura scored after taking the ball around goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Twenty-year-old centre-half Jarell Quansah equalised with a powerful effort from inside the penalty area for his first Liverpool goal.
But the hosts regained the lead just before half-time thanks to Cameron Puertas' low strike, which proved to be the winner.
Puertas thought he had scored again with another well-struck shot but the goal was disallowed for handball following a video assistant referee check.
Despite the loss, Liverpool win Group E with 12 points from their six games, while Belgian league leaders Union Saint-Gilloise finished third to drop down into the Europa Conference League play-offs, in February.
Premier League leaders Liverpool will not play another European fixture until the last 16 in March and can focus on other competitions.
They now have three vital home games - Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday, West Ham in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday and then Arsenal in the league on 23 December.
Learning experience for Liverpool's youngsters
Liverpool's 4-0 win over LASK in November guaranteed top spot with a game to spare in the group.
That meant Klopp was able to rest forward Mohamed Salah, defenders Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold and goalkeeper Alisson with Liverpool playing 10 times between 30 November and 1 January.
And the Reds manager took full advantage, naming Liverpool's youngest starting XI for a European match, with an average age of 22 years and 156 days.
Three teenagers started - 18-year-old Scottish winger Ben Doak, 19-year-old left-back Luke Chambers and 19-year-old midfielder Kaide Gordon - while the side also featured three 20-year-olds, Quansah, right-back Conor Bradley and established midfielder Harvey Elliott.
Eighteen-year-old defender Calum Scanlon and midfielder James McConnell, 19, also made substitute appearances on a valuable learning night for Klopp's squad.
The hosts were the better team throughout though and Noah Sadiki, Amoura and Gustaf Nilsson had missed chances before Amoura capitalised on Reds' captain Curtis Jones losing possession in midfield, racing clear and bundling his way past Kelleher.
Liverpool were only behind for seven minutes as Quansah superbly controlled the ball from a corner before producing a fine finish with his second touch from 15 yards.
However, that was the visitors' only attempt on goal in the opening 75 minutes, with the Belgian side retaking the lead through Puertas' near-post strike on their way to a deserved win.
Klopp took the blame for the loss and refused to criticise his players.
"I mixed up the team completely, so the amount of changes were too much for rhythm," he said.
"I would never judge a player after a game like this and say, 'OK, he's obviously not good enough'. I know how good they are because I see them every day in training and this is an important experience.
"I don't think any career ever started without these kind of games where you have to struggle, where you have to fight through, where you have to survive."
Near-death experiences and meeting world leaders: Veteran war correspondent John Simpson shares his Christmas memories
Shakespeare's impact on Dame Judi Dench's career: The acclaimed actress reveals how the playwright has remained centre stage throughout her life
