Early penalty seals Liverpool’s Europa League progress

Liverpool 1 Augsburg 0

It was fraught, it was close and had Kostas Stafylidis’s 89th minute free-kick found the top corner it would have been a calamity, yet Jürgen Klopp got the preparation he craved for Sunday’s trip to Wembley as Liverpool advanced into the last 16 of the Europa League at the expense of Augsburg.

The only way to face Manchester City in the Capital One Cup final was on the back of victory, Liverpool’s manager had insisted, and his team duly obliged to remain unbeaten in Europe this season and undefeated in 16 European ties against German opposition at Anfield.

Liverpool were handed the perfect start, literally, when referee Clement Turpin was possibly the only person inside the stadium to spot a needless handball by Dominik Kohr. Augsburg had started brightly, with Caiuby blazing a good chance over after 44 seconds and Koo Ja-cheol dominant in central midfield, but momentum was checked when his fellow midfielder made a mess of dealing with Jordan Henderson’s cross into the area.

As Kohr shaped to head clear he was impeded by his team-mate Caiuby, who was climbing all over his back but getting nowhere the ball, and the midfielder's raised arm made contact. No one appealed, not the Liverpool players or the Anfield crowd, but the alert French official had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Augsburg's fans and their manager, Markus Weinzierl, raged at Turpin's perceived heist while James Milner waited patiently then beat Marwin Hitz with a powerful spot-kick low to the goalkeeper's left.

The breakthrough enabled Liverpool to settle but they had enough chances to have eased all anxieties before the interval. Hitz’s sharp reflexes and a few wrong decisions in front of goal kept the tie in the balance.

Liverpool were edgy in defence but their play in the final third showed the benefits of a first full week's training since Christmas. There was greater intensity and understanding to Liverpool's attacking performance than there has been for several weeks. The quick-fire combinations between Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge on the left were a constant worry for the Augsburg defence.

Sturridge started a third consecutive game for the first time in 11 months as Klopp refused to let the impending Capital One Cup final against Manchester City influence his starting selection. Kolo Touré was perhaps the only player rested for Sunday, though Lucas Leiva will hope otherwise having started in central defence, with the Liverpool manager striving for the continuity that has eluded the team in recent months.

The home side’s pressing was also improved though Klopp, naturally, demanded more throughout. Coutinho pounced on a loose pass across the Augsburg midfield and forced Hitz into a near post save after a neat exchange with Sturridge. The visiting keeper twice denied Sturridge in the first half, reacting well to tip over the striker’s instinctive flick from an Alberto Moreno cross and again when Coutinho’s cross was diverted towards the bottom corner. Roberto Firmino also had a good opening but volleyed well wide with Milner and Sturridge waiting unmarked inside the penalty area. Coutinho could have done better than to shoot straight at Hitz having opened up space in front of goal.

Liverpool’s best chance of a second fell to Sturridge shortly after the restart, when Hitz and the Augsburg right-back, Paul Verhaegh, played themselves into trouble and invited Coutinho to intercept once again. The England international was offside when released by the Brazilian but, allowed to continue, he cut inside the last man, Ragnar Klavan, before placing his shot inches wide.

The threat from Augsburg was limited yet they had their moments to score a crucial away goal. The left-back Stafylidis forced Simon Mignolet to save at full-stretch with a 25-yard drive and Caiuby was gifted a clear opening when Lucas under-hit a back-pass straight to his fellow Brazilian. The Augsburg striker rounded Mignolet but could not find the target from a tight angle. A reprieve.

The impressive Hitz thwarted Henderson at close range and clawed away a deflection off Halil Altintop that was bound for his own goal.

At the opposite end Mignolet tackled Tobias Werner on the edge of his area, Alexander Esswein went close to connecting with Caiuby’s centre and Stafylidis thought he had sent Augsburg through only for his curling free-kick to miss the top corner by a fraction.

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