A young Liverpool FC side were held to a 1-1 draw by Bordeaux in France in the opening game of the UEFA Europa League. The draw stretches Liverpool’s win-less run to four games as pressure begins to mount on manager Brendan Rodgers, with the fans bashing him once again. Defender Mamadou Sakho and youngsters Rossiter and Chirivella got the opposite treatment with the supporters hailing them on twitter.
Brendan Rodgers is under a lot of pressure following back-to-back demoralizing defeats in the Premier League at the hands of West Ham and Manchester United. The manager needed a good performance and result against Bordeaux in their Europa League opener, but, could muster only a draw.
The average age of the side was just 21.7 after Kolo Toure had limped off in the first half to give way to Pedro Chirivella. The youngster, just 18, slotted seamless in the central midfield alongside another 18 year old midfielder Jordan Rossiter as the pair gave an assured midfield display.
Mamadou Sakho finally got his chance to play and looked like he was never away as the French defender gave an assured display at the back.
BR: a Sakho was outstanding. He knows he had to be patient & his attitude has been first class. He comes into the reckoning for the weekend.a
a Chris Bascombe (@_ChrisBascombe) September 17, 2015
Liverpool fans hailed him on twitter for the display as seen in the tweets below:
I could have told you this before kick off but man of the match has been Sakho. Probably won’t help him keep his place this weekend though. a Michael Sweeting (@M_Sweeting) September 17, 2015
Reasonable draw (hey, I’m trying to be positive). Gomez good, Sakho & Moreno fantastic. Pedro & Rossiter promising as well.
a Marco Lopes (@FootyML) September 17, 2015
Would think Mamadou Sakho will be very unfortunate if he doesn’t keep his place against Norwich after that performance. a Dominic King (@DominicKing_DM) September 17, 2015
No surprise that Sakho has impressed despite lack of games. Only Rodgers know why he benched him & plays those clowns instead
a Jay (@Jay82_LFC) September 17, 2015
The performance in general received a mixed reaction, with the manager remaining unpopular for the Reds fans on twitter. Although Rossiter and Chirivella’s performance was well received.
Slowly but surely, Rossiter and Chirivella are giving Liverpool more of a foothold in midfield. Both youngsters acquitting themselves well.
a Tony Barrett (@TonyBarretTimes) September 17, 2015
At least the night’s still young. 1-1 will do, but doesn’t give us the boost a win would have done. Not that we exactly played for one. a Jim Boardman (@JimBoardman) September 17, 2015
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Good result considering lack of experience in side. But far from a good performance.
a Paul Grech (@paul_grech) September 17, 2015
Meh. But with an average age of 21. Branagan, Rossiter & Chirivela getting debuts and a draw. Can’t really complain. a Ritchie (@JohnRitchie84) September 17, 2015
I’d have taken a draw at the start. So not a bad point away in Europe. But frustrating that we threw away a lead. #LFC
a Jay Riley (@Jay_78_) September 17, 2015
Remember when the ‘reserves’ played well at Real Madrid, then they all got dropped for the next game… Sunday should be interesting. a Matt Ladson (@mattladson) September 17, 2015
Any judgment of Origi after this match is like judging a fastbowler that’s spent the whole game fielding at third man
a Simon Brundish (@simonbrundish) September 17, 2015
#LFC defensive shambles the whole of the Rodgers tenure a Jay Riley (@Jay_78_) September 17, 2015