Europa League: Liverpool narrowly beat FC Augsburg 1-0 on aggregate to move to next round
Liverpool managed to avoid a late scare to progress to the Round of 16 in the Europa League after a 1-0 aggregate win over Augsburg at Anfield on Thursday night. A penalty from James Milner was enough for the Reds to book their spot in the next round.
Squads
Liverpool: Mignolet, Clyne, Lucas, Sakho, Moreno, Can, Henderson; Milner, Firmino, Coutinho, Sturridge
Augsburg: Hitz, Verhaegh, Janker, Klavan, Stafylidis, Kohr, Esswein, Koo, Altintop, Werner, Caiuby
In spite of the looming Capital One Cup final at Wembley this Sunday against Manchester City, Jurgen Klopp still decided to start with Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho. The pair have had their spells on the sidelines due to injuries this season.
“Games for players who didn't play for a long time – like Phil and Daniel – are important for rhythm.” – Klopp
First Half: Liverpool take early lead
It was a good start for Liverpool who took the lead as early as the fifth minute with a goal from the penalty spot. Jordan Henderson’s corner-kick saw two Augsburg defenders go up to head it out of danger but Dominik Kohr’s flailing arm came in the way and the referee did not hesitate to point to the spot.
James Milner stepped up to take the penalty and took a shot that curled into the bottom right corner. It was well struck as goalkeeper Marwin Hitz had guessed correctly and dived to his left but the shot had too much venom on it for him to make a save. While he managed to score from the spot, he wasn’t exactly doing his duty when it came to set pieces as he was guilty of taking some poor corners, especially considering they got quite a few in the first half.
The German side had a good chance to equalise just after the half-hour mark when Caiuby pounced on a back pass from Lucas Leiva. Simon Mignolet was stranded in no man’s land but the angle was too tight for the Brazilian forward to score with Mamadou Sakho also sliding in to ensure there was no chance of the shot creeping in. Caiuby was barely getting any service up front but still managed to trouble the Reds’ defence when he could.
Second Half: Liverpool hang on despite Augsburg's late onslaught
The second half saw Liverpool start brightly with Sturridge, Roberto Firmino and Coutinho seeing chances go begging. The three players had combined well for Klopp’s side until Sturridge’s substitution and look promising with the League Cup final around the corner.
For Augsburg, Tobias Werner managed to produce a save at the bottom corner when he took a shot on goal. The German side only needed one away goal to pile on the pressure at Anfield.
Although the game was played at a frenetic pace, neither side were able to get a real chance on goal. As the clock winded down, Augsburg had one real good chance when Konstantinos Stafylidis took a free-lick from more than 20 yards out. His left-footed shot seemed to be heading into goal with Mignolet seriously tested but the shot went inches wide of the post.
Ultimately, even five minutes of injury time could not help Augsburg score the crucial away goal to go through while Liverpool qualified for the Round of 16.
Full time: Liverpool 1-0 Augsburg (Agg: 1-0)