Teen star steps up to the plate for Klopp
Mohamed Salah should have put Liverpool in front when Roberto Firmino – on his return to his former club – put the £36.9m summer signing clean through.
But with Hoffenheim defender Kevin Vogt breathing down his neck, he slid his shot wide.
Liverpool were looking nervous every time Hoffenheim put in a set-piece but got all the first-half attempts away.
Celebrated
The game had been going at a frantic pace but it cooled until Liverpool’s other pacy forward, Sadio Mane, forced Ermin Bicakcic to foul him 25 yards out.
Emre Can, Alberto Moreno and Alexander-Arnold stood around the dead ball, with the latter the least expected to strike.
But the right-back was the one to curl it over the wall and Hoffenheim keeper Oliver Baumann was left flatfooted as the ball found the bottom corner.
He celebrated his first senior goal before Lovren should have put the Reds two up just before the break but headed a Moreno corner just wide.
Firmino, who spent four years at Hoffenheim, had a chance after the restart but he miscued.
Hoffenheim continued to give Liverpool problems with high balls and passes in behind the back line.
Gnabry had the ball in the net but it was rightly ruled out for offside before the he snatched at another chance.
Liverpool looked home and dry when Milner’s left-sided cross came off Havard Nordtveit’s chest and flew into the net past a helpless Baumann.
But with three minutes left, Uth took a long ball on his chest and fired home. HOFFENHEIM (3-4-2-1): Baumann; Bicakcic, Vogt, Hubner; Kaderabek, Rupp, Demirbay, Zuber; Kramaric, Gnabry; Wagner. Subs: Kobel, Nordtveit, Toljan, Amiri, Uth, Szalai, Geiger. LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Mignolet; AlexanderArnold, Matip, Lovren, Moreno; Can, Henderson, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Mane. Subs: Karius, Klavan, Gomez, Milner, Grujic, Solanke, Origi. Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (Holland).