Lacklustre Toulouse defeated Liverpool 3-2, ending their Europa League unbeaten streak.
The Reds were awful in southern France and exited the knockout round after beating Les Violets 5-1 at Anfield last month. Jurgen Klopp’s team struggled as their Group A advantage was cut to two points.
Liverpool captain Joe Gomez nearly scored in the fourth minute with a near-post header that hit the bar. Reds failed to produce any clear-cut chances after that in the first half. A Ben Doak shot was stopped by the Toulouse keeper, an Alexis Mac Allister shot from beyond the box was deflected over the bar, and Harvey Elliott had two shots blocked.
On 29 minutes, Gabriel Suazo couldn’t connect on a cross and the hosts sent a shot past the Reds. Nine minutes before halftime, Les Violets had the opening. Aron Dannum stole Kostas Tsimikas’ pass and fired past Liverpool goalie Caoimhin Kelleher after Jarell Qaunsah deflected it.
Klopp brought on Mo Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Trent Alexander-Arnold at halftime. The French seized the game by storm. Before Thijs Dallinga’s offside goal, Suazo missed a wonderful opportunity two minutes into the second half. On 58 minutes, Dallinga, who scored at Anfield, picked down a cross and fired into the far corner to give Toulouse the lead.
An own goal by Cristian Cásseres brought Liverpool back into the game in the 74th minute. The deficit returned to two minutes later when Frank Magri was unmarked at the back post and scored.
Substitute Diogo Jota’s late consolation set up an intriguing conclusion, and Liverpool felt they had a point when Jarell Quansah scored in stoppage time. A long VAR examination, including two pitchside monitor visits, found Alexis Mac Allister handled the build-up.
After a disastrous performance, the Reds did not deserve a part of the spoils. Here are our Liverpool player ratings.
Caoimhin Kelleher-5
He had little chance with Toulouse’s first two goals but may be frustrated he pushed a cross to Magri for the third.
Kostas Tsimikas—3
Very bad first half. A sloppy pass led to Endo getting booked and sending a cross high into the stands. Halftime substitution.
Jarell Quansah—5
Great first half, but unlucky that Donnum’s shot he blocked scored. Skinned early in the second half, he couldn’t stop Toulouse and had a late equalizer ruled off.
Joel Matip—-4
Several times in the first half, he ran with the ball without pressure. Caught ball-watching for Toulouse’s second-period goals.
Joe Gomez—5
Close to scoring his first Liverpool goal and quick to recover. His headed cross helped Liverpool score, but he was caught out of position in the second half.
Wataru Endo—4
He was booked for a first-half foul, but Tsimikas sold him short. He committed another foul immediately after and was lucky not to receive a second yellow card. Naturally, he was substituted at halftime.
Alex MacAllister—4
Lacked aggression throughout the first 45 minutes. Dropped deeper after the break but couldn’t influence or protect. Then was penalized for handling the ball, preventing an equalizer.
Harvey Elliott | 5
A couple long-range attempts were blocked. Nice first half but no lethal pass. In the second half, showed effort but lacked quality, scorching over the bar in the final stages.
Luis Diaz-5
In the first half, seemed more likely to achieve anything without harming Toulouse. The home team’s second goal came after losing the ball and failing to beat the defense. Late substitute.
Cody Gakpo—4
Surprisedly on set-piece duty in the opening half and failed to threaten. He barely touched the ball in the second half before being substituted in the 73rd. Anonymous.
Ben Doak-5
He had some thrilling moments in the first quarter and saved an attempt, but he wore out as halftime approached. Halftime substitution.
Dominik Szboszlai 1- 5
Couldn’t impress.
Sub 2: Mo Salah-4
Never threatened the goal and couldn’t get the ball down in ideal chances.
Sub-3 Trent Alexander-Arnold—6
Liverpool threatened more when he got on the ball but were unsuccessful.
Sub-4 Darwin Nunez-5
Sub-5 Diogo Jota-6
His goal was well-taken but unimportant.