FT Notes: Hoffenheim 1-2 Liverpool

Sports - Football - Champions League - Qualifier

PRE-MATCH NOTES

The venue: the 30,000-capacity Rhein-Neckar Arena. Sold out within 17 minutes for this tie.

Hoffenheim won 11 and drew six of their 17 games there last season.

Their dangerman is former Leicester striker Andrej Kramaric, who scored 18 goals for them last season. Sandro Wagner, who starts alongside him in attack, bagged 12.

One person who certainly knows all about Hoffenheim is Roberto Firmino.

The Liverpool forward spent four years at the German club, scoring 49 goals in 153 appearances, before moving to the Reds in 2015.

Liverpool will look to Firminio to provide creativity in the absence of Coutinho.

ZDF: 1st European Cup tie for Hoffenheim, 333rd for Liverpool. #YNWA
BBC: While this is Hoffenheim's very first game in Europe it is Liverpool's 364th and 182nd in the Champions League/European Cup. Hm... Who's counting...

Hoffenheim were the only side Klopp's Borussia Dortmund failed to beat in the league in his first title winning season of 2010-11!

ZDF point finger at "Wackelkandidat" Simon Mignolet and same old defensive problems for draw at Watford. And transfer fiasco.

Klopp: "We need more players than money!" Clear dig at Coutinho! And owners!

MATCH NOTES - THE MAIN BITS:

3' SALAH GOAL - OFFSIDE FLAG WAS UP!!! Pfff...

10' PENALTY given by the assistant not the referee! Dejan Lovren v Serge Gnabry, eventhough it looked offside, tumbled down & got the penalty! Clumsy but OH SO SOFT!

11' Nr 27 Andrej Kramaric takes, SIMON MIGNOLET SAVES!!! Too easy to the keeper's left, but curling towards him! #TFFT

15' Mohamed Salah breaks on his own, shoots wide! Skipper Kevin Vogt was catching up trying to make up for his error, but it was one-to-one with keeper Baumann... #waste

26' Kaderabek sends a shot high from the right edge of the box. Closest either side has come for a while...

28' Hoffenheim free kick, Gnabry takes from about 25 yards out, into the box, cleared.

34' First European booking goes to Hoffenheim's number 4 Ermin Bicakcic after bringing down Salah about six yards outside the box.

35' WHAT A FREE KICK!!! FIRST EUROPEAN GAME, FIRST EUROPEAN GOAL FOR RED YOUNGSTER TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD! Right foot, over the wall, into the right corner of the net! Nice one! #YEAH #TAA 👊⚽👊 #BOOM #DANKE

40' That goal has calmed some nerves! More possession for the Reds now & settled play, less frantic & all over the place!

43' GNABRYYY denied by Simon Mignolet & Sandro Wagner puts the rebound just wide! The German commentator got loud there!

1 minute added on. Hoffenheim with the ball. Pressing. Pushing. But lose out the ball.

Liverpool counter, Mané v Vogt, the latter does well to kick the ball out for a corner.

LOVREN HEADS THE CORNER WIDE!!!

That was the last action before the break. HT Hoffenheim 0-1 Liverpool. AND BREATH!!!

HT Stats:
Possession: 61%-39%
Shots: 6-6
On target: 2-3
Corners: 0-2
Fouls: 6-8
Yellow cards: 1-0

The home side did well & dominated most of the game, only behind thanks to a TAA cracker!

Klopp will be happier with the away goal, but still worried with the shaky defence! At least Mignolet has kept strong! #sofarsogood #fingerscrossed

46' Hoffenheim kick off the second half & break & push straight away, but Wagner is flagged offside. No changes made by either side during the interval.

47' Mané crossed into the box from the left to FIRMINOOOO, what a chance from close range but it is blocked/deflected out for a corner, well done by keeper Oliver Baumann.

49' Salah from the right, defended nicely by Zuber winning the ball back.

50' GNABRYYY GOAL - OFFSIDE, cruel, I know, not the best play by Wagner, under pressure by the Reds this time. Makes a change! 😝

51' Emre Can booked for pushing down Demirbay.

52' First Hoffenheim change: 6 Håvard Nordtveit replaces 4 Ermine Bicakcic.

53' First Hoffenheim corner, the commentator reels down the negative stats the Reds have with set pieces. Nothing comes from it, out wide.

53' Second change made by young boss Nagelsmann, who likes to reshape his side after the break according to the commentator. 18 Nadiem Amiri comes on for 7 Lukas Rupp.

55' Second Hoffenheim corner, blocked and cleared.

55' TAA gets his first booking too, free kick on the left for the home side, cleared again.

62' James Milner getting ready to replace Jordan Henderson.

63' Change made & the captain's armband is handed over in the process.

64' Hoffenheim free kick out for a throw-in on the left. Possession & pressure all Hoffenheim... The home side win another corner. #gulp

65' Demirbay takes, Matip defends it out for another corner on the other side. Demirbay again, headed away this time. Clear. Breath.

66' GNABRY AGAIN unmarked in the box, smacks it high.

67' A Liverpool corner for a change! TAA takes it, Lovren, ball eventually goes out for a goal kick. TAA appealed for a free kick outside the box there, but, it wasn't much. A bit like the penalty...

70' SALAH SHOT soft, easily kept out by Baumann, corner for Liverpool. Last Hoffenheim substitution: 19 Uth replaces 29 Gnabry, who was MOTM for me! Great performance for the German side, created a lot, dominated the pitch! 

Keeper holds onto the ball off the corner.

74' MILNER NETS FROM THE LEFT, nice curl, deflected in by Nordtveit, 0-2, thank you very much, vielen Dank! ⚽👊⚽

76' Benjamin Hübner booked for bringing down Firmino. Salah eventually loses the ball at the edge of the box.

80' The German commentator points out how quickly Liverpool took the free kick after Mané was brought down, repeating again & again that the ball didn't stop moving... Advantage attacking team, no? Nein?

82' NICE SAVE BY MIGNOLET denying sub Amiri from close range, what a chance! Where is the marking?!?!?!

84' MANÉÉÉ wide, another chance wasted from close range. Solanke makes his Red debut in Europe replacing Firmino, strong performance by the number 9. Even the German commentator is full of laud.

86' First fans leaving the stadium. Nicht gut.

87' GOAL FOR THE HOME SIDE sub Uth finds the breakthrough, nice left-footer into the right corner of the net. TAA failed to cover there & Matip runs in to cover way too late... Reminds me of Saturday... 💩🙈💩🙈💩 1-2

89' Last substitution for Reds, Grujic on for Mané. Whilst I write this Hoffenheim come close again, pushing it late on... Liverpool flagged offside...

4 MINUTES ADDED ON!!! Hoffenheim free kick, headed high by Hübner. The German commentator got really loud then! What a chance! Tense finish... 🙈😱🙈😱🙈

All Hoffenheim...

Demirbay down injured... After Grujic's challenge... Nagelsmann not happy...

Last minute... Liverpool with the ball... GRUJIC SHOT gloved away by Baumann.

Hoffenheim want another free kick... Didn't see anything... YNWA echoes in the background... FT whistle blows, Hoffenheim 1-2 Liverpool.

Confident, strong & dominant performance by the home side, but not clinical enough in front of goal.

Under-fire Mignolet kept the Reds ahead thanks to a couple of good stops, including a spot kick denying Kramaric! MOTM?

TAA's goal was a cracking free kick, congratulations! Experienced Milner doubled the lead off the bench. And I've just seen it's been listed as a Nordtveit own goal. Harsh.

We had to leak one at the end, sub Uth netting late on to make the last minutes tense. But Hoffenheim deserved at least something.

So, we can take a one-goal lead & two away goals to Anfield, that should do it, no? #COYR ⚽👊⚽ #BOOM

Klopp just calls it half-time in the post-match interview & lauds his keeper, keeper coach, the opposition & Nagelsmann. Both managers stay optimistic & are happy with their sides' performances. You can see how much it meant to the Germans. 🇩🇪😊🇬🇧

FT Stats:
Hoffenheim 1: Uth 87'.
Liverpool 2: Alexander-Arnold 35' & Nordtveit OG 74'.
Possession: 63%-37%
Shots: 13-14
On target: 4-8
Corners: 6-5
Fouls: 13-12
Yellow cards: 2-2

1899 Hoffenheim XI: 1 Baumann, 22 Vogt, 4 Bicakcic (booked 34') (6 Nordtveit 52'), 21 Hübner (booked 76'), 3 Kaderabek, 10 Demirbay, 7 Rupp (18 Amiri 53'), 17 Zuber, 29 Gnabry (19 Uth 70'), 14 Wagner, 27 Kramaric. 3-4-3
Substitutes not used: 15 Toljan, 28 Szalai, 32 Geiger, 36 Kobel.

Manager: Julian Nagelsmann = youngest Bundesliga manager with 30!

Liverpool XI: 22 Mignolet, 66 Alexander-Arnold (booked 55'), 6 Lovren, 32 Matip, 18 Moreno, 14 Henderson (7 Milner 63'), 23 Can (booked 51'), 5 Wijnaldum, 11 Salah, 19 Mané (16 Grujic 89'), 9 Firmino (29 Solanke 84'). 4-3-3
Substitutes not used: 1 Karius, 12 Gomez, 17 Klavan, 27 Origi.
Manager: Jürgen Klopp

Referee: Björn Kuipers

Click here for my previous LFC match report.

Notes, stats and facts taken from Twitter, BBC and ZDF coverage.