November 2015 was a very different time for Liverpool supporters.
Jurgen Klopp was just a few weeks into his new job at Anfield, having taken over from Brendan Rodgers the previous month, and the Reds were playing group matches in the Europa League rather than the Champions League following a sixth-place finish in the 2014/15 Premier League.
After three draws from their first three group games, Klopp’s first away game in the competition came against a Rubin Kazan side who had escaped with a point from Anfield despite playing more than half the game with 10 men.
Liverpool managed to sneak a 1-0 win, and would end up making it all the way to the final of the competition, beating Manchester United along the way.
Here’s what happened to the starters and substitutes who were involved in Russia that evening.
Simon Mignolet
Mignolet remained Klopp’s preferred keeper in the 2015/16 season, but the subsequent arrival of Loris Karius and then Alisson Becker saw the Belgian’s opportunities increasingly limited.
The former Sunderland keeper returned home in 2019, joining Club Brugge, and played against the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United in Europe last season.
Nathaniel Clyne
One of Rodgers’ last Liverpool signings, Clyne would be a regular in 2015/16 and ended the season as part of England’s Euro 2016 squad.
He left Liverpool in 2020 after a difficult few years with injuries, rejoining boyhood club Crystal Palace on a free, and made his second debut for the Eagles in October.
Dejan Lovren
Lovren had a big part to play in the 2015/16 Europa League run, not least with his goal in the quarter-final victory over Borussia Dortmund.
A World Cup finalist with Croatia in 2018, Lovren left Liverpool for Zenit St Petersburg over the summer and has been thrown straight into the action for the Russian club.
Mamadou Sakho
Sakho was a big part of Liverpool’s run to the 2016 final, but fell out with Klopp during Liverpool’s pre-season tour that summer.
The French defender moved on loan to Crystal Palace in January 2017 before completing a permanent move later that year, and is still playing his football at Selhurst Park.
Alberto Moreno
Moreno lost his place as Liverpool’s first-choice left-back after the 2015/16 season, with James Milner preferred in the role until the subsequent arrival of Andy Robertson in 2017.
The Spaniard stuck around until 2019, sitting on the bench as the Reds won the Champions League final that year, and is now back in La Liga with Villarreal.
Emre Can
German international Can continued to play a prominent role under Klopp until he ran down his contract and left for Juventus on a free in 2018.
He lasted just two seasons on the Italian club’s books, spending part of that second year on loan at Borussia Dortmund before making his move to the Bundesliga side permanent earlier this year.
Joe Allen
Allen was one of Rodgers’ first signings after playing for the Northern Irish coach at Swansea City, and scored a big goal under Klopp in a 3-3 draw with Arsenal in January 2016.
He left Liverpool that summer, with Stoke City paying handsomely for the Welshman after his impressive European Championship campaign.
Jordon Ibe
The scorer of Liverpool’s winner in Kazan, Ibe added three further goals that season before a £15m bid from Bournemouth convinced the Reds to let the former Wycombe man move on.
Ibe’s time on the south coast ended on a sour note and he was allowed to leave on a free over the summer, eventually joining Derby County in September.
Roberto Firmino
Firmino was just a few games into his Liverpool career in November 2015, and it was the Brazilian who laid on Ibe’s winning goal.
The former Hoffenheim man has been a key man for the Reds ever since, and his goal in the recent victory over Sheffield United was his 58th in the Premier League.
James Milner
Milner’s role at Anfield has varied over the years, with stints in a more advanced role, a deep-lying midfield spot and even in defence.
The former Manchester City man joined Liverpool on a free in 2015, and has played more than 200 games for the club over the last five years.
Christian Benteke
Benteke made a solid start under Brendan Rodgers following a big-money move from Aston Villa, scoring a winner against Bournemouth and an eye-catching bicycle kick at Old Trafford in his first six games.
However, after one season and 10 goals, the Belgian was considered the wrong fit for Klopp’s Liverpool and moved to Crystal Palace, where he remains today.
SUBSTITUTES:
Adam Lallana (for Milner, 61)
One of a number of former Southampton players to move to Anfield, Lallana played 49 times in the 2015/16 season - more than he managed in any other Liverpool campaign before or since.
He left this year after a difficult time with injuries, and has already made more starts this season than he managed last term.
Lucas Leiva (for Firmino, 81)
Lucas was a fine servant for Liverpool, spending a decade on Merseyside and playing more than 300 games for the club.
He is now equally important for Lazio, where he has just begun a fourth Serie A season.
Martin Skrtel (for Can, 90)
Skrtel came on to shore things up towards the end, and a few weeks later he would score his last Liverpool goal in a 4-1 win away to Manchester City.
The Slovakian moved to Fenerbahce after Euro 2016, and is now playing for another Turkish club, Istanbul Basaksehir.
Adam Bogdan
Liverpool’s unused substitute goalkeeper was former Bolton Wanderers stopper Bogdan, who ended up playing just six times for the club - all during the 2015/16 season.
The Hungarian left Anfield in 2019 after some time away on loan, and is now on the books of Ferencvaros, for whom he was an unused sub in the recent Champions League group game away to Barcelona.
Cameron Brannagan
Brannagan made his Liverpool debut in an earlier Europa League game against Bordeaux, eventually playing nine games in the 2015/16 campaign.
He left Anfield in January 2018 without adding to that tally, joining Oxford United, and has been a regular for the Us in the years since.
Philippe Coutinho
Coutinho wasn’t needed in Kazan, but returned to the starting XI for the league defeat by Crystal Palace three days later, scoring the fourth of his 12 goals that season.
The Brazilian was even better the following season and a half, earning a nine-figure move to Barcelona in January 2018, and is now back in the fold at Camp Nou after spending last season on loan at Bayern Munich.
Divock Origi
After spending the 2014/15 season on loan at Lille, Origi was still easing his way into life as a Liverpool player in November 2015 and wouldn’t score his first goals for the club until the following month.
The Belgian is still a Liverpool player, and has chipped in with a number of big goals since returning from another loan spell - this time at Wolfsburg - in 2017/18.
