Five things we learned from Liverpool's vital win over Hoffenheim in the Champions League
Liverpool look good in attack but still have some work to do in defence, Trent Alexander-Arnold is a set-piece wizard and Serge Gnabry is still dangerous
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Your support makes all the difference.Liverpool beat Hoffenheim in Germany to take a step towards the Champions League group stage, but conceded a late goal to ensure that the tie remains in the balance.
Hoffenheim started brightly and won a penalty when Serge Gnabry was brought down by Dejan Lovren in the box, only for former Leicester striker Andrej Kramarić to see his tame effort saved by Simon Mingolet.
Kramarić’s profligacy was almost immediately punished, as Liverpool’s young fullback Trent Alexander-Arnold curled home a superb free kick effort to put the away side in front.
James Milner then helped to double Liverpool’s advantage in the second-half when Harvard Nordtveit deflected his cross into his own net, but Mark Uth’s close-range finish in the 87th minute ensured that the German side remain in the tie.
Here are five things we learned from Liverpool’s win.
Alexander-Arnold is a set-piece wizard...
Let’s be honest – if this article was a lot shorter in length and titled ‘One thing we learned’, it would be that Trent Alexander-Arnold can’t half take a free-kick.
Did anybody truly know that he had that in his locker?! The youngster has occasionally been on corner duty for the first-team – and already he is one of the best crossers of the ball in Liverpool’s squad – but until this match he was yet to confidently curl a free-kick into the corner of the net.
The goal was his first in a Liverpool shirt, in his first European appearance for the club, and helped Liverpool seize complete control of this tie.
... and Kramarić definitely isn’t
Hoffenheim were presented with a glorious chance to seize the initiative in this tie when Dejan Lovren clumsily brought down former Arsenal man Serge Gnabry in the box, just 10 minutes into this tie.
But, unlike Alexander-Arnold, Kramarić isn’t much of a set-piece taker. The striker, who flopped at Leicester before moving to the Bundesliga side in 2015, stepped up to take the penalty but lightly toepoked it almost directly at Simon Mignolet, who gratefully beat the ball away.
There can’t have been many worse spot-kicks ever taken in the Champions League. What an opportunity missed for the home side.
Liverpool's defence still has some work to do
Liverpool’s defence let them down in their opening Premier League match of the season, with all three of Watford’s goals coming by way of backline cock-ups.
Klopp stuck with the same back four against Hoffenheim – Alexander-Arnold and Alberto Moreno in the full-back positions with Lovren and Joel Matip in the middle – and it’s true that they did fare better than they did in the 3-3 draw on Saturday.
But Hoffenheim still scythed their way through the middle with alarming regularity, and Lovren showed why he cannot ever truly be relied upon when he clumsily brought down Gnabry early on. This defence is a work in progress.
But they look good in attack even without Coutinho
If the unthinkable happens, and Barcelona manage to prise away Philippe Coutinho before the transfer window shuts, Liverpool fans should take solace in the fact that their front three of Sadio Mané, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino look exceptionally dangerous – especially on the counter-attack.
Once again Mané was Liverpool’s best player, while Salah almost scored in the first-half when he broke free of Hoffenheim’s defence. The Egyptian winger will take time to fully adjust to his new surroundings, but already the signs are there that he will deliver for his new club.
Liverpool undoubtedly missed their Brazilian playmaker – any side would miss their best player – but they still look dangerous in attack without him. It’s the defence they need to concentrate on improving.
Gnabry is still an exciting talent
Former Arsenal youngster Serge Gnabry never quite showed his potential in England, but is highly-rated in his native Germany and was snapped up by Bayern Munich this summer after hitting 11 goals in 27 matches for Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga last term.
Against Liverpool, the 22-year-old showed why Bayern saw fit to sign him from Werder, before sending him on loan to Hoffenheim to develop. He made an immediate impact when he ran at Lovren and won a first-half penalty, and had the ball in the net at the start of the second-half, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside.
Quick, powerful and with an eye for goal, the winger is already one of his club’s best players. He will need to be at the very top of his game in the return leg if the Germans are going to turn this tie around.
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