Toulouse vs Liverpool: Star-studded Reds crumble in France despite late rally

Toulouse vs Liverpool: Star-studded Reds crumble in France despite late rally

Ifeanyi Ufomadu 20:51 - 09.11.2023

Liverpool tried and failed to produce a second-half comeback as they fell to a shock 3-2 defeat against Ligue 1 side Toulouse in their Europa League group-stage clash.

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How it happened

After a disappointing Premier League draw away at Luton Town at the weekend, Liverpool were looking to return to winning ways, knowing they had the opportunity to seal Europa League knockout football with two group games to spare. 

Joe Gomez flicked a header onto the crossbar in the opening stages, but the Reds struggled to create many further first-half openings and were punished for their sloppy display in the 36th minute. 

Kostas Tsimikas was at fault for sloppily losing possession, allowing Aron Dønnum to charge towards goal before sending a deflected effort beyond Caoimhin Kelleher, giving Le Téfécé an unexpected HT lead.

Despite Liverpool dominating possession, the hosts scored just after the interval to double their lead, before Liverpool through Darwin Nunez via a deflection, halved the deficit.

Any hopes of a comeback were swiftly ended when Frank Magri capitalised on Kelleher’s parry to restore his side’s two-goal cushion. 

Substitute Diogo Jota scored a wonderful solo goal with time running out, which set up a grandstand finish. Jarell Quansah netted what he thought was his first goal for the club deep into stoppage time but VAR ultimately intervened to hand the French side all three points,