Liverpool exit the Europea League after a penalty shootout defeat at the hands of Besiktas…
Besiktas 1-0 Liverpool – Dejan Lovren missed the crucial spot kick as the Reds lost 5-4 on penalties in Istanbul. Tolgay Arslan scored the only goal of the night from open play, cancelling out Mario Balotelli’s first leg strike.
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It was a disappointing night all round for the Reds, who lost for the first time inside 90 minutes since mid-December. Our players will not have to try and get their minds straight for Sunday’s huge Premier League game against Manchester City.
Read the full Liverpool player ratings below:
GK) Simon Mignolet – 8/10
An excellent performance from the Belgian stopper, who made several crucial saves to ensure the game went as far as it did. A commanding presence in the air and impressively agile coming off his line, his turnaround over the last couple of months has been truly sensational.
RCB) Kolo Toure – 5/10
Caught out in the build-up to the goal, allowing Demba Ba to escape him and set up what proved to be the winner on the night. There will also be plenty of raised eyebrows over why the Ivorian was not among our penalty takers, having scored one in a final earlier this month, but it’s hard to know who’s decision that was.
CB) Martin Skrtel – 7/10
The Slovakian worked tirelessly in a defence not accustomed to playing together. He missed the presence of Emre Can and Mamadou Sakho alongside him, but more than made up for their absences, as he led by example throughout – with the captains armband wrapped around his bicep.
LCB) Dejan Lovren – 5/10
Was tidy during the game itself, but ultimately missed the decisive penalty. He looked completely devastated by his miss, and it’ll be interesting to see how he comes back from it. Here’s hoping he does, and that he’ll be able to put such a dark moment quickly behind him.
