KRC Genk vs Liverpool – Champions League Match Report

 

Injury struck Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain capped his first start in the Champions League since April 2018 with two goals that saw Liverpool grab three points in Belgium.

Oxlade-Chamberlain grabbed an early goal for the Reds with a shot from the outside of the 18-yard box which found its way into the bottom left corner.

While Liverpool controlled much of the possession through the first half, Genk threatened the Liverpool defence with long balls over the heads of centre back pairing Virgil Van Dijk and Dejan Lovren which saw Tanzanian striker Samatta miss two chances within the first 25 minutes.

The Belgium side did have a goal ruled out for offside which would of made the scores 1-1. VAR checked the decision and approved which meant the goal remained disallowed.

Salah generated the only other chance for Liverpool in the first half; a header flicked wide from a corner piece.

Genk started confidently in the second half but it was Oxlade-Chamberlain that doubled his and Liverpool’s goal tally for the evening with a sublime, outside of the boot effort on the edge of the box that bounced down off the crossbar and over the line.

Much of the second half was then dominated by Liverpool which saw them add a third through the combination of the front three leading to a Mané finish.

A fourth was then snuck in from the post after Salah had wriggled and rolled his way skilfully past two Genk defenders.

An immediate reply was sent from Genk as substitute Stephen Odey snatched a late consolation after a mistake from Lovren.

Oxlade-Chamberlain said with BT Sport that “It’s nice to be back in the starting line-up and to get a couple of goals is a bonus. But we’ve got to be better if we want to go further in the tournament.”

This win means that Liverpool remain in second place in Group E on six points, behind Napoli in first on seven points.

The three points gathered are also the first points Liverpool have achieved in a group stage Champions League match away from home since December 2017 against NK Maribor.

KRC Genk remain stuck in fourth on 1 point.

League leaders Liverpool return in their next game at Anfield in the Premier League against Tottenham who won their Champions League game on Tuesday night in a resounding 5-0 win against Red Star Belgrade.

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