Liverpool vs. Trabzonspor – Europa League Play-Off Round: First Half Match Report
Liverpool will fear the worst going into half-time against Trabzonspor at 1-0 down. The Reds are playing their 2nd leg of the Europa League play-off tie. Liverpool had a 1-0 advantage from the first leg at home but it has now been cancelled out and nerves may be jangling in the Reds’ camp.
Liverpool are without a few of their big names: Steven Gerrard is out due to a bad back; Fernando Torres has been rested and Javier Mascherano is on his way out of the club. Therefore, manager Roy Hodgson does have limited options for now, given the lack of first-team players.
Liverpool were greeted by one of the best banners one can find on a Liverpool away-tie. The creativity was excellent: it read “You Are Alone Here", obviously referring to the Anfield song ‘You Are Not Alone’. 20,000 intimidating Trabzonspor fans ‘welcomed’ Liverpool and they did look unsettled to begin with.
Trabzon were causing all sorts of problems for the Reds in the early stages; after Ibrahim Yattara's shot was deflected wide by Jamie Carragher, Gustavo Colman's effort from the edge of the box was parried away by Pepe Reina.
Roy Hodgson says that this competition isn't his priority, but he wouldn’t have been pleased with a less-than-impressive start for Liverpool. The first leg lead was quickly cancelled out and it was an open game from the early stages.
The goal came from a mistake, as Dirk Kuyt gave the ball away and after Gustavo Colman screwed his shot across goal, the Reds’ defence was sleeping and Colombian Teofilo Gutierrez reacted quickest and stuck it past Pepe Reina.
The crowd nearly took the roof off the ground, and there was a great sense of anticipation from then on.
Liverpool seemed to be playing a mediocre game in Turkey and they should have been 2-0 down. Captain for the night Ibrahima Yattara sneaked in at the back post to head a free-kick wide from five yards; it was a woeful miss.
Liverpool found some space finally and following a quick counter move, Fabio Aurelio spanked a shot comfortably wide from the edge of the Trabzon box. There were whistles almost every time Liverpool got the ball, and the crowd kept getting more raucous every minute.
A handful of Liverpool fans jumped in joy but quickly went back to their grim, gloomy expressions when Glen Johnson scored for Liverpool but he was flagged offside from David N’Gog's pass; it was the correct decision. However, it was a decent attempt at goal from the Reds.
The Turks had two players booked in the last few moments: Ceyhun Gulselam for a foul and Burak Yilmaz for a dive, which he was devastated about.
Just before the break, Lucas shot tamely at Onur Kivrak in a rare Liverpool attack, but once again it was way off target.
The break could not have come sooner for Liverpool; they had been woeful and need a fresh start. As it stands, we may be heading to penalties after extra-time.
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