Full-time: Rubin 0-1 Liverpool
Another step forward for Liverpool. They bossed this match throughout and would have won much more convincingly if they had finished better. Other than that, they played with encouraging crispness and menace and there were some fine individual performances, notably by the goalscorer, Ibe, and Sakho at the back. Sion’s late equaliser at home to Bordeaux means the Swiss side lead the group by two points from Liverpool, who are three points ahead of Bordeaux.
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90+2 min: Substitution: Can off, Skrtel on.
90 min: There will be at least three more minutes. And I’ll say it: Liverpool are looking comfortable again ...
88 min: Ibe, who has probably edged Sakho in the man of the match stakes, makes a rare misjudgement. After cutting in from the right he drilled an 18-yard shot way wide.
86 min: This is better from Liverpool, who are reasserting the superiority that has been obvious for most of the game. Good calm probing at the right end of the pitch.
83 min: Liverpool now betraying the nerves you might expect from a side that have drawn their three previous matches in this competition 1-1. Sakho - again him - makes a brilliant tackle in the box to strip the ball off Ustinov after the sub had wriggled past Moreno.
81 min: Substitutions: Lucas on for Firmino for Liverpool. Ustinov on for Kisiyak for Rubin.
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80 min: A nice attempted overhead kick by Benteke after he teed the ball up for himself while controlling Ibe’s cross from the right. Rzyhikov saves easily enough.
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79 min: Liverpool starting to look a little jittery as Rubin begin to bare their teeth. Sakho makes an excellent intervention to quell a dangerous move by the hosts.
77 min: Kambolov takes a cartoon run-up the freekicks ... and tanks it miles over. “It was rubbish, wasn’t it?” says Michael Owen on BT.
76 min: Lovren booked for a textbook clumsy tackle on Devic. Freekick in a dangerous shooting position, about 25 yards out and almost in line with Migonolet’s left-hand post.
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74 min: Rubin brewing up a little storm there, but they then did what Liverpool had done for most of the night, misplacing their final ball, causing the danger to fizzle out.
72 min: No shortage of crosses towards Benteke tonight but the striker is entitled to be frustrated with the lack of precision. Clyne has just floated in another one fractionally too far for the Belgian.
70 min: Bordeaux have just gone 1-0 up Sion, currently leading this group. That makes it all the more important for Liverpool to ensure they win this match.
67 min: With Rubin now trying to cobble together some attacks, Liverpool catch them on the counter. They have three on two, an ideal opportunity to copperfasten their first win of the campaign! Lallana knocks the ball into the path of Ibe, who lets fly from 20 yards. The keeper saves with his feet.
65 min: An authoritative headed clearance by Sakho from a Rubin corner.
62 min: Lovren’s misses Ibe’s corner at the near post - another well delivered one - but the ball runs to Can, who catches it sweetly but his curling shot goes right into the keeper’s arms. 1-1 is still on ...
60 min: Proving he wasn’t lying when he said before kick-off that he didn’t think Lallana’s slight injury concerns were serious, Klopp introduces the ex-Saint from the bench. Off walks Milner, who seems to gesture that he has a sore hamstring.
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59 min: Lovren meets a corner (a well delivered corner!) with a powerful header. Ryzhikov gets down well to save .
57 min: Can goes down in the box following contact from a defender. He’s angry at not being given a penalty but, in truth, the fall looked like it was based on a the work of Ashley Young.
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56 min: Liverpool are rampant now, attacking with real speed and menace! Moreno showed strength and determination to vault a wild tackle at the edge of the and then fizzed in a low cross from the left. It was cleared only to Milner, whose curling shot brought a one-handed save from the keeper.
54 min: Dinky work again by Ibe, who offloads deftly to Clyne. But the right-back’s cross fails to find Benteke in the middle.
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GOAL! Rubin 0-1 Liverpool (Ibe 52)
At last! Liverpool finally claim reward for their domination and no one deserved it more than Ibe, who has been excellent since the start. He ran on to a pass some 20 yards out and produced the kind of finish that had been glaringly absent, smacking the ball low and hard beyond the keeper and into the corner of the net!
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50 min: Neat, snappy passing by Liverpool as they work their way from their own half to near the opposing box, whereupon they deliver a feeble cross. Bit of a recurring theme, that. Moments later, however, they try to pick their way through the middle with quickfire one-twos - and they nearly pulled it off, denied only by a terrific last-ditch tackle on Allen.
47 min: Clyne cross from the right. Benteke narrowly fails to meet it but Moreno charges in at the far side of the box and cracks off a fierce shot from a difficult angle. It’s deflected into the sidenetting for a corner. And the delivery from that is harmless.
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46 min: Rubin substitution: Eduardo off, Ozdoyev on.
Half-time: Rubin 0-0 Liverpool
Everything Liverpool have done has been great, right up until the most important - sticking the ball in the net. Their final ball, crossing and even their long-range shooting have all been a touch off. Other than that, they’ve played with pleasing slickness and intent. Ibe and Milner have been very good, Firmino has shown classy flashes, and although Moreno’s deliveries have most been inaccurate, you get the feeling that the Spanish left-back is going to create some clear chances any minute now. Rubin have been outclassed so far but defended well around their box. The result could come down to which of these sides tires first.
45 min: What a save by Rzyhikov! That was the first time in the match that athe keeper had to excel and, tellingly, it was to parry a goalbound header from one of his own players! Kverkvelia attempting to divert a Liverpool cross out of harm’s way instead directed it on goal, forcing the keeper to make a brilliant reflex stop and then scramble the ball away before Benteke could pounce.
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42 min: Ibe has shone for Liverpool. He’s making regular inroads down the right and through the middle and been at the origin of many of Liverpool’s most cutting moves. But still the final ball from Liverpool is too approximate and that, along with some vigilant defending by Rubin’s back four, is the reason there has not yet been a goal for the visitors. And until they capitalise on their territorial dominance, there will always be the fear that they’re going to drop a clanger at the back and wind up losing a game they should be winning comfortably. Or drawing 1-1 again.
39 min: Milner, operating almost exclusively on the left so far, digs out a fine cross from the corner. But Rubin defend it well again. They’ve coped with cross very adroitly so far.
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37 min: Eight Rubin players in their own box as Moreno delivers a cross from the left. Yet it’s Joe Allen who gets in Benteke’s way, preventing the striker from getting off a shot after decent chest control.
35 min: Rubin threaten with a break down the left. Georgiev crosses. Sakho’s defensive header goes awry, landing right at the feet of Devic, who feeds it back to Georgiev, whose cross is cleared again, only better this time.
32 min: After a meandering run by Ibe, Moreno attempts to deliver a dangerous cross ... and then another one ... but both times Rubin defended well, as they did again when Ibe attempted a shot from the rim of the box.
30 min: Well-timed tackle by Can on Karadeniz, the ideal way for the German to make up for giving the ball away with a sloppy pass.
28 min: Liverpool are dominant but the atmosphere around the stadium remains wonderfully festive, with relentless chanting, drumming and giddy yelping.
25 min: Aarrgh! There’s so much to admire about this Liverpool performance - the tempo, the aggressive purpose, the movement and interplay - but the poverty of their final touch or shot around the box is really starting to grate. Firmino is the latest to send an effort way off target, although his header from a Milner cross was by no means a simple chance.
23 min: Rubin’s player implore the ref to award a penalty after Kannunikov donks the ball against the arm of Milner, who was a yard away. The wise ref ignores the pleas.
21 min: Benteke gets the back of his ankle raked after receiving a pass from Firmino. Freekick to Liverpool about 25 yards out. Central. Moreno dabs a weak effort into the wall.
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18 min: An intended pass to Clyne runs instead to Firmino, who races into the box and .... shanks his shot wide. With better finishing Liverpool would already be a goal up. They’re well on top.
16 min: One of the features of Klopp’s Liverpool, so far as I’ve seen anyway, is the regularity with which Clyne gets into the opposing box. He’s always been an attacking full-back (as well as excellent defensively) but he seems to have been given even more licence than ever to go raiding. He and Ibe have been combining nicely so far on the right and causing Rubin plenty of consternation.
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14 min: Excellent and acrobatic clearance at the near post from Sakho after Rubin send in their very dangerous cross of the match. Michael Owen, in the gantry for BT, says he is impressed that Klopp has said he has most of the ingredients of a good team. “That’s the sign of a really good manager,” said Owen. “Anyone can just come in and say they need a load of new players.” Unfortunately the camera does not then pan to the BT studio to show us the expression on Harry Redknapp’s face ....
11 min: Another rapid, expansive move by Liverpool. Ibe and Milner made impressive contributions before Firmino worked the ball to Benteke, who had a pop from 25 yards. It flew way over but if Liverpool keep this up, they’ll score soon, or should do.
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9 min: Moreno is just a couple of beep-beeps away from performing the perfect roadrunner impression as he hurtles down the right, leaving Kannunikov floundering his wake. The ensuing cross is blocked.
8 min: Ibe’s corner is headed out to the edge of the box, where Milner takes it on his chest and then balloons a volley way over the bar.
6 min: And that’s even more encouraging for the visitors! Firmino created a chance with a lovely flourish of skill at the edge of the area, a nutmeg followed by a slipped pass through to Milner, who ran onto it and slammed it past the advancing keeper from 10 yards ... and it skims the top of the crossbar!
5 min: It’s been an encouraging start by Liverpool, who’ve hogged possession so far and not in a boring or slow way. There’s been zip and purpose to their moves and Rubin are having to work hard to fend them off.
2 min: After a busy build-up down the right, with Ibe to the fore, Can mis-hits an attempted shot from 25 yards and it trickles wide. Klopp bursts out laughing, a far more sensible reaction than pretending to jot something down in a notepad.
1 min: We’re off and there’s no early lack of enthusiasm as the pace is high from the outset.
42,000 fans in the brand new Kazan Arena, generating a buoyant atmosphere. Certainly can’t find fault with that. The pitch, on the other hand, looks bumpy. As for the kits, Kazan are all in red and Liverpool all in white: simple and clear.
You’ll Never Walk Alone is all well and good but there will be widespread disappointment if the locals don’t give us a rendition of this tonight:
Klopp has just spoken to BT and his response to the first question/statement showed, yet again, that he’s no spoofer. It was put to him that he has selected a very attacking line-up and he replied: “Yeah? Without Coutinho and Lallana?” He explained he didn’t want to risk that pair because of slight injuries. As for Benteke’s fitness, he says: “I don’t know where his limit is. We’ll see.”
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Every team should have a player like Mamadou Sakho. He does everything he’s supposed to and has much better technique than many realise, but he’s also one of those players who inspire affection because, despite their rare talent, there is something about them that suggests even the basics can be a bit of a challenge. As such, everything they do - not just the frequent last-gasp acts of heroism - comes across as a triumph. Centrebacks like that are a special joy to watch. Richard Dunne belongs in the same bracket, maybe even John Terry.
Speaking on BT, Steve McManaman is confidently predicting that “Liverpool’s quality will shine through” and the visitors will run out handy winners. Thing is, he said exactly the same thing before the match at Anfield, when they were held by 10 men.
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Preamble:
Here we are, then, Game Six of the Jurgen Klopp era. So far he has a win percentage of 40%, exactly the same as Graeme Souness, so maybe Liverpool should just cut him loose now and save everyone a lot of consternation. OK, OK, that would be a trifle rash but don’t come here crying in a few months time if modern-day Istvan Kozmas and Torben Piechniks are mangling the club’s good name in a gegenpress. On the other, less flippant hand, there have been traces of progress in Klopp’s first five games, especially in the last one, that feelgood victory at Chelsea. The German is evidently trying to cultivate his plan and rear a proper team and, to that end, he is deploying a strong line-up tonight, which includes Christian Benteke from the start. Rubin were nifty enough in the game at Anfield and deserved to draw, with Karadeniz and Devic particularly pesky to Liverpool’s still-brittle defence. This is a good test, then, and another useful indicator of the task facing Klopp. In terms of the Europa League, Liverpool, after three 1-1 draws in a row, could do with a win if they are to enhance their chances of advancing. Here are the teams:
Rubin: Ryzhikov; Cotugno, Kverkvelia, Kambolov, Nabiullin; Kislyak, Georgiev; Kannunnikov, Carlos Eduardo, Karadeniz; Devic
Subs: Haghighi, Ustinov, Lemos, Ozdoev, Bilyaletdinov, Akhmetov, Dyadyun
Liverpool: Mignolet, Clyne, Sakho, Lovren, Moreno, Can, Allen, Milner, Ibe, Firmino, Benteke.
Subs: Bogdan, Coutinho, Lallana, Lucas, Origi, Brannagan, Skrtel.
Ref: K Blom (Netherlands)
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