Personnel so different but same problem
WHAT a difference three years makes.
The Liverpool team that took to the field last night for their return to the Champions League was unrecognisable from the one that last graced the competition back in December 2014.
On that occasion, a 1-1 draw at home to Swiss champions Basel condemned Brendan Rodgers’ side to third place in the group and an early exit.
Rickie Lambert, currently without a club, led Liverpool’s attack that night as the five-time European Cup winners slunk out of the competition at the first hurdle.
Other players on show that night included the recently-retired Jose Enrique and Glen Johnson. Of the side held by Basel, only Jordan Henderson and Dejan Lovren (above) started against Sevilla last night, with Simon Mignolet on the bench.
That is testimony to the huge change in personnel Liverpool have undergone since their last Champions League outing, with Jurgen Klopp having brought them back to Europe’s top table.
Lambert was symptomatic of the lack of ambition at the time at Liverpool, who now boast a forward line that can stand alongside the very best in Europe.
In Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah, Liverpool have pace, power and the kind of movement that never allows defenders any degree of comfort.
While the personnel may have changed drastically, Liverpool’s chances-to-conversion ratio remains their Achilles heel. On that night against Basel, Liverpool created enough chances to win the game.
Here, it was a similar story, chances created but squandered, including a missed penalty by Firmino 10 minutes before half-time.
And they were made to pay once more for their profligacy, the Spaniards somehow forcing an equaliser in the 72nd minute that had never looked like coming.
But the Liverpool of today are radically different to the side that failed on this exalted stage three years ago, even though they remain a work in progress under Klopp.
Qualification from a modest group that also includes Spartak Moscow and Maribor is the minimum requirement for the Reds, who must show why they now belong back among Europe’s elite.