FC Augsburg and Liverpool played out a dull 0-0 draw on Thursday night, in the first of two legs in the Europa League‘s round of 32.
Returning to the Europa League after the tournament’s two-month break, Liverpool took on the Bundesliga side at the WWK Arena.
After stressing the importance of Europe’s second-tier competition to his side’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League, Jurgen Klopp showed the ultimate respect to Augsburg by naming an unchanged side from Sunday’s 6-0 win over Aston Villa.
This saw the exciting attacking trio of Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Daniel Sturridge keep their place in the lineup, sparking the imaginations of supporters.
But it proved to be a deflating affair in Bavaria, with a 0-0 draw setting up a must-win tie at Anfield next week.
Here’s how supporters saw Thursday night’s stalemate.
Some took an optimistic view…
Not a bad performance but really needed a result here. I'd rest a few players in the 2nd leg for the final
— Dinesh Kumar (@DHardayal) February 18, 2016
All this moaning again. Not a perfect result, not a vintage performance, but i'll take it. Still in the tie, no injuries too
— Alexey Yaroshevsky (@YaroLFC) February 18, 2016
Grim game. But City only have an extra days rest & a midweek trip to Ukraine so no huge advantage. And they play Chelsea this weekend. #LFC.
— Si Steers (@sisteers) February 18, 2016
Others vented their disappointment…
Augsburg good value for the draw. As for LFC, pretty underwhelming I'd say.
— Didi Hamann (@DietmarHamann) February 18, 2016
“Poor performance, very mediocre result. Two poor teams slogging it out, either team could have won it but a draw is deserved. The return will be a tense, difficult affair. What’s the odds on us keeping two clean sheets in a row? Meh.”
– MikeOscar on the forums.
https://twitter.com/trustme_sq/status/700439964476166144
Our performance tonight #LFC pic.twitter.com/cD9So4mUw1
— Chris Kirkham (@chriskphotoIOM) February 18, 2016
Drawing isn't the issue but being made to look second best by a team that sits 14th in the Bundesliga definitely raises a lot of questions.
— Salil (@thescousefoodie) February 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/jacklusby_/status/700443354656567296
https://twitter.com/SSB95332892/status/700441548593434625
“Disappointing result, can’t escape that.”
– Art Morte6 on the forums.
A feeling of boredom was rife…
https://twitter.com/TheKopMagazine/status/700439784133693440
"0-0"
That'll do for a match report.
— Jim Boardman (@JimBoardman) February 18, 2016
Well that was an exhilarating night's football ?
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) February 18, 2016
“Shades of Bordeaux in September.”
– El Dorado on the forums.
I'd have preferred to watch 90 minutes of Kolo hugging people to be honest
— Mark Jones (@Mark_Jones86) February 18, 2016
But some turned toward the club’s European history for comfort…
https://twitter.com/mcstrag/status/700443163119452160
https://twitter.com/Tony_K1892/status/700438372603588608
Fortunately, there were some positive statistics for supporters to cling to…
I guess a week ago if you'd been offered two clean sheets and six goals scored in the next two, you'd be happy…
— Andrew Beasley (@BassTunedToRed) February 18, 2016
0 – Liverpool are the first team to keep a clean sheet against Augsburg in the Europa League this season. Drilled.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 18, 2016
The Reds will now welcome Markus Weinzierl’s side to Anfield next Thursday in search of a comfortable victory—and supporters will be hoping for a more comprehensive performance.
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- MATCH REPORT: Honours even after dull draw in Germany
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