Liverpool became the latest British club to suffer European heartache last night, crashing out of the Europa League to Besiktas after a penalty shootout in Istanbul.
The Reds travelled to the Ataturk Stadium – of course the venue in which they won the 2005 European Cup final – with a 1-0 lead from the first leg.
But a 72nd minute goal from Besiktas substitute Tolkay Arslan ensured the game went to extra time and then penalties, and at the same end where Jerzy Dudek famously denied Andriy Shevchenko, Dejan Lovren blazed the decisive kick into the Istanbul night sky.
But where did it go wrong for Brendan Rodgers side?
The Reds have been on a fantastic run of late, and have moved up to within two points of the top four following seven wins in their last 10 Premier League games – a run which has also included five consecutive clean sheets on the road.
But last night’s performance was simply not up to scratch. Here we have identified five reasons as to why.
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Click on Dejan Lovren to reveal 5 reasons why Liverpool got knocked out the Europa League
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Injuries to key players
It would be too easy to blame the Reds defeat on injuries alone, but Brendan Rodgers did have several key players missing for last night’s trip to Istanbul.
Lucas Leiva and Steven Gerrard were ruled out prior to last week’s first leg, and were joined on the sidelines by Mamadou Sakho, Glen Johnson, Jordan Henderson and Philippe Coutinho – who was rested ahead of the City game after 19 consecutive starts.
With Lazar Markovic serving the second of a four match ban, the Reds were probably at the weakest they have been in terms of numbers all season. You can’t help but feel the performance at least would have been better had two or three of these players been available for selection last night.
Wastefulness of Sturridge and Sterling
To put it simply, Liverpool’s main attacking men did not perform.
Daniel Sturridge in particular looked out of sorts, whilst Raheem Sterling also had an evening to forget.
Both had opportunities in what was a decent first half performance from the Reds, but both were particularly wasteful in front of goal.
Sturridge took too long to shoot on a couple of occasions, whilst Sterling failed to pick out the right pass when well positioned. Both made little to no impact in the second half and extra time that followed – something Reds fans have not become used to seeing in recent times when both have been fit.
Rodgers tactics/substitutions
Brendan Rodgers spoke pre-match about how the big pitch would benefit Liverpool on the counter-attack, so it was strange to see his side almost drop off and play for a 0-0 after a first half in which they created chances.
The decision to take off Balotelli after 80 minutes was also a questionable one, with the Italian looking the brightest of Liverpool’s attacking trio.
Given the game was 40 minutes away from penalties as well, the Italian would certainly have been handy to have on call for the shoot-out – then again, hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Besiktas wanted it more
After a first half in which Liverpool were clearly the better side, Besiktas deserve credit for the way in which they turned the game around after half time.
The Reds intensity from recent matches simply went missing in Turkey, and the home side grew into the game as it went on, encouraged by their intimidating 72,000 home crowd.
They were sharper to second balls, more aggressive in the tackle, and more incisive in their passing. In the end, Liverpool were simply beaten by the better side.
Lovren as fifth penalty taker though?
Despite a poor performance, the Reds still had a 50-50 chance of making it through when it came down to penalties.
Yet the decision to put Dejan Lovren as the fifth penalty taker seemed a strange one.
Kolo Toure buried two penalties earlier in the season as the Reds beat Middlesbrough 14-13 in one of the longest shootouts of all time, as well as scoring in the recent African Cup of Nations final for the Ivory Coast.
Raheem Sterling has 10 goals to his name this season, and should have stepped up ahead of a centre back, whilst Alberto Moreno has a decent left foot and would be fancied from 12 yards. In the end, the decision to go with Lovren proved to be costly.
