Europa League: Sparta Praha vs. Liverpool – Full time report
Liverpool travelled to Generali Arena to take on Sparta Praha in what was a set encounter in the Europa League.
Liverpool made the trip without http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Steven-Gerrard-c34196, who was home nursing his groin injury, while a number of the teams youth players were included in the side. This was due to the fact that Kenny Dalglish was hoping to give the younger players at the club, a
much better opportunity to prove themselves.
The match kicked off with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 being tested by Praha, who seemed to be using their home advantage well.
In the 19th minute Praha had their first shot on target as Pamic received a through-ball from Martin Abena and let rip a shot from a distance. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Pepe-Reina-c29672 did well to parry the shot away.
In the 35th minute, it seemed like Praha would take the lead. This was because Reina leapt up to gather a high-ball, but let the ball slip. The ball then fell to Ramic, who just needed to get his shot on target, but the player managed to power
a shot well over the bar.
As the match progressed, Praha continued to take the game to Liverpool, who despite being dominated were defending things pretty well. Nonetheless, neither team could find the back of the net in the first half.
The second-half of the game played out in almost the exact same manner as the first. Liverpool created few chance in the game, and, were dominated for the most part. This seemed to be because of the fact that the team, just didn't seem to click.
The only chance of the second half fell to the feet of Kweuke. The player received a floating ball from Kusnir, but in the end Reina ended up making a sublime save to keep his side in the tie.
Nonetheless, the match eventually ended in a stale mate, with neither side finding the back of the net. The second-leg for the game is now set to take place on February 24th, 2011 at Anfield.
The line-ups on the night were as follows:
Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Kyrgiakos, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lucas-c22528, Maxi, Aurelio, Ngog, Meireles.
Subs: Gulacsi, Cole, Pacheco, Jovanovic, Kelly, Coady, Skrtel
Sparta Prague: Blazek, Kusnir, Repka, Brabec, Pamic, Keric, Vacek, Kadlec, Matejovsky, Abena, Kweuke.
Subs: Zitka, Podany, Sionko, Bondoa, Zeman, Husek, Pekhart
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