Before Toulouse FC and Liverpool FC meet on match day four of the UEFA Europa League Group E at the Stadium de Toulouse, Liverpool players line up for a team portrait.
The draw at Luton put an end to a recent extremely strong run of results, so supporters may have expected a strong showing in Toulouse. That’s not the case; Liverpool lost the Europa League 3-2 and looked miserable.
Liverpool 3-2 Toulouse in the group stage of the Europa League at Municipal Stadium
Goals: Casseres OG 73′, Jota 89′; Donnum 35′, Dallinga 57′, Magri 75′.
Out of 10, Caoimhin Kelleher scored four.
In the few games he has been able to start this season, he hasn’t exactly had the best of beginnings. defeated, although by a deflection, by the first legitimate attempt on goal. had nothing much to do prior to then.
made one save in the opening minutes of the second half, and then was beaten at the far post by a well-executed low attempt that was disallowed before the hour mark.
The third blow was disallowed when it sailed past him in the center, and he was unable to get close enough on a tip-away. Although Kelleher was left exposed that evening, his shot-stopping was far from impressive.
Joe Gomez: 6 (Most Valuable Player)
On the night, he was captain and came extremely close to scoring his first goal for Liverpool, if not for anyone in senior football history! Early on, a flicked header just missed the crossbar.
He made one outstanding sprint back to intercept a runner and two really powerful one-on-one challenges while playing tight defense. moved to left back in the second half and made some excellent passes, sprints down the flank, and defensive duels, but not enough of them matched his goal.
provided a header to the far post, aiding in the own goal.
Matip Joel – 4
had little to do, but was let down when a cross at the far post in the first half was met and the attempt was narrowly missed. Clearly tripped in attempt to score the “second” goal, which was rightfully disallowed, and then got a minute later elbowed in the face.
Maybe that have an impact on him for the second goal? Until it was much too late, he chose to just stand and watch the striker free in the box.
Five Jarell Quansah
incredibly remarkable, calm, and methodical in his death. However, he had to focus on his defense more this time, and it wasn’t flawless.
As a rookie player, he will undoubtedly make a few mistakes with his defensive decisions. Maybe one of those mistakes was his failure to close down the shot faster for the first goal, which ended up deflecting off him and past Kelleher. He had performed poorly in the first challenge as well, and in the second, he was a yard deeper than he should have been, and in the third, he was defeated on the line.
A night that should have been jubilant as he blasted in his maiden goal and what would have been the extremely late equalizer before it was ruled out. Instead, it was a learning experience.
Three Kostas Tsimikas
Toulouse, France – November 9, 2023, Thursday: On the fourth day of the UEFA Europa League Group E encounter between Toulouse FC and Liverpool FC at the Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse FC scores the first goal thanks to a mistake made by Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas, who looks devastated. (Image via Propaganda/David Rawcliffe)
Is he really the most sophisticated character? Without a string of games, it’s difficult to be at your best naturally, but with Robertson out, he ought to be receiving that now and he’s not exactly proving he’s a team necessity.
He lost control in his own half with no defense behind him due to his mistake, which cost him the goal. Subbed during halftime, and his status for the league starting this weekend will be in doubt once more.
Alberto Moreno, also Greek.
Endo Wataru – 4
didn’t really have a lot of control over things; most of his passes was brief, sideways, and passive, at times giving up too much power.
Ticketed for an over-stretch that partially stamped on his opponent’s foot; just before halftime, he committed another foul for which he could have been able to walk.
lost all four of his ground fights.
Endo didn’t exactly pass with flying colors, considering that this may have been an audition for starting him against Brentford at home the following weekend while Alexis was suspended. replaced during halftime.
Six Harvey Elliott
vivacious, gregarious, and eager to participate in the Reds’ build-up play, but never really displaying a great deal of finesse or finished product. A single curved shot was directed out of the six-yard box.
I was tempted to give him more points because, in contrast to others, he genuinely tried hard and worked hard, but in the end, he was just not very good.
Five Alexis Mac Allister
Despite being assigned a more aggressive role than usual, they didn’t quite generate or dictate in the manner we had planned.
Resuming his position as No. 6 for the remaining 45 seconds, he saw one shot deflected narrowly wide but once more failed to provide much creativity or defensive resilience.
won just two of the match’s eleven duels.
Five Luis Diaz
TOULOUSE, ENGLAND – Thursday, November 9, 2023: Luis Díaz of Liverpool during the encounter between Toulouse FC and Liverpool FC on match day four of the UEFA Europa League Group E at the Stadium de Toulouse. (Image via Propaganda/David Rawcliffe)
With the news of his father’s release just before kickoff, he must have been both ecstatic, relieved, and furious. The fact that he chose to play says a lot about his mental toughness.
adopted a bit of a shoot-on-sight policy in the first half but occasionally displayed his dribbling and determination as well. Toulouse’s aggressive style and the Reds’ lack of offensive creativity kept him on the sidelines in the second half.
Gakpo Cody: 4
failed to make much of an impact in the first half, apart from a beautifully clipped free kick for Gomez.
Occasionally attempted a few dribbles, but they were ineffective, and he was relegated to the role of a bit of a target man who wasn’t very durable.
Is he a center-forward for real?
Ben Doak: Five
nearly scored with a powerful half-volley that was aimed directly at the goalkeeper.
On a night when the Reds played too slowly, he didn’t really have much going for him other than a few dribbles that seemed intriguing at the time but ultimately led him down dead ends.
For the teenager who was fairly cruelly hooked at halftime, there’s another learning curve.
Alternates
Paris, France – Thursday, November 9, 2023: Toulouse FC and Liverpool FC play in the UEFA Europa League Group E match on match day four at the Stadium de Toulouse. Toulouse scores the second goal, and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool looks defeated. (Image via Propaganda/David Rawcliffe)
Mohamed Salah (46′, on for Doak) 5. Just clattered on the skull and didn’t really do anything offensive.
Domingo Szoboszlai (on for Endo, 46′) – 4 – It is evident that Dom is not too concerned about the Europa League.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (entering at 46′ for Tsimikas) – 4 – Had to cut short a huge opportunity by racing back immediately after coming on. Sluggish to be a third. Awful set pieces.
Darwin Nunez (72′ on for Gakpo) – 5 – Did not do much.
Diogo Jota (on for Diaz, 80′) – 7 – Came on, took three players on, and finished with a beautiful goal.
Alisson, Mrozek, Konate, Chambers, Scanlon, McConnell, and Gordon were not substituted.
Sixth Jurgen Klopp
Toulouse, France – November 9, 2023, Thursday: During the fourth day of the UEFA Europa League Group E encounter between Toulouse FC and Liverpool FC at the Stadium de Toulouse, Liverpool’s manager Jürgen Klopp gives a round of applause to Luis Díaz. (Image via Propaganda/David Rawcliffe)
It was a pretty typical lineup for the boss, with Diaz, who hasn’t played much lately, and Alexis, who is suspended this weekend, the only other regular senior starts.
A first half that was lethargic and one-paced, with no counter-pressing and at times very sloppy in the middle third of the pitch, would not have impressed him too much.
It was therefore inevitable that changes would be made once the Reds fell behind: Klopp’s frustration and desire to finish the job were made clear by the quadruple substitution of Alexander-Arnold, Szoboszlai, and Salah.
In the end, Liverpool performed horribly and lost, but is that really Klopp’s fault this time? Not so; the players disappointed themselves greatly with a performance that began late in injury time and left them feeling vindictive when even one call went against them in the officiating booth.
Definitions of player ratings are as follows: 10 = Perfect; 9 = Excellent; 8 = Very Good; 7 = Good; 6 = Average; 5 = Below Par; 4 = Bad; 3 = Very Bad; 2 Horrible 1 = Without a doubt, do not rate them.
Liverpool vs. Toulouse, Toulouse
