Ten-man Rubin deny Reds on Klopp's home debut
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Article summary
Liverpool 1-1 Rubin
Marko Dević threatened to ruin Jürgen Klopp's Anfield bow but Emre Can equalised to ensure a share of the spoils between two winless sides in Group B.
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• Liverpool and Rubin still seeking first win in Group B after 1-1 draw
• Marko Dević gives Rubin lead but Russian lose Oleg Kuzmin to red card
• Emre Can slides in equaliser to earn Reds' third straight draw
• Result leaves Liverpool second in group with Rubin fourth
• Teams meet again at Centralniy Stadion in Kazan on 5 November
Jürgen Klopp is still seeking his first win as Liverpool manager after his opening match at Anfield ended in a 1-1 draw with ten-man Rubin Kazan.
The Reds fell behind to a Marko Dević goal but hit back through Emre Can within a minute of Rubin skipper Oleg Kuzmin's dismissal. Liverpool dominated the second half but came no closer than a Christian Benteke effort against the post.
After all the anticipation of a new era at Anfield, Rubin ensured Anfield fell temporarily silent by taking the lead after 15 minutes. Full-back Kuzmin was the architect as he cut infield, riding a challenge from Can before playing a diagonal pass in the direction of Dević. The Ukrainian got there ahead of Nathaniel Clyne, chesting the ball down before lifting a rising shot past Simon Mignolet.
Liverpool had several half-chances, notably through Adam Lallana, who flicked a Coutinho free-kick onto the roof of the net, and Coutinho who ran at the home defence but fired wide.
At the other end, Rubin – much improved on their recent domestic displays – almost had a second goal when Blagoy Georgiev swivelled onto a Gökdeniz Karadeniz ball and drove in a half-volley that Mignolet kept out with a flying save.
The game's pivotal 60 seconds arrived with the 36th minute when Kuzmin impeded Can and was given a second yellow card. Coutinho whipped over the free-kick and Divock Origi nodded it across goal where Can slid in to score the first goal of Klopp's reign.
Liverpool dominated the second half and kept probing in search of a second. Substitute Benteke might have had it but volleyed over from a Clyne centre and then struck a post after being set up by the lively Lallana.