Liverpool made it back-to-back wins in the UEFA Europa League after defeating Union Saint-Gilloise 2-0 at Anfield on Thursday night.
UEFA Europa League
Result: Liverpool 2-0 Union Saint-Gilloise
Date: 05 October 2023
Venue: Anfield
Jurgen Klopp went with a relative strong line-up as Mohamed Salah, Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota all started.
The match also saw two brothers coming up against each other, as Alexis MacAllister faced Kevin who started in defence for the Belgian outfit.
The Reds should have been ahead after 17 minutes when Mohamed Salah put the ball on the player for Nunez, who failed to hit the target from point-blank range by firing wide of the upright.
Union had a big chance of their own ten minutes later when Gustaf Nilsson rose above to meet a free-kick from Cameron Puertas, but the strike sent his header over the crossbar from close range.
The Reds did get the opening goal just before the halftime break when goalkeeper Anthony Moris spilled Alexander-Arnold's shot, which Ryan Gravenberch was able to turn home in the six yard area.
Klopp made a triple change at the start of the second half, as Mac Allister, Luis Diaz and Curtin Jones replaced Endo, Nunez and Salah for the rest of the encounter.
Union shot-stopper Moris kept his side in the contest on the hour mark, as he produced a superb save to keep out Gravenberch's curling effort, which seemed destined for the top corner.
The Belgian Pro League side started seeing a bit more of the ball as the half went on, but it was Liverpool who went close to bagging a second on 79 minutes when Diaz was slipped through on goal, but the Colombian's effort crashed against the upright.
The Reds did seal the win in second-half stoppage time when a swift counter-attack ended with Jota racing clear to fire into the far corner, making it three goals in his last five games.
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