Basel v Liverpool: Champions League – as it happened

http://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2014/oct/01/basel-liverpool-champions-league-live

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9.38pm BST21:38

FULL TIME: Basel 1-0 Liverpool

And to wild celebration, another English team is vanquished at St.Jakob Park. Basel are worthy winners tonight, but it wasn’t as though they had to do much; Liverpool’s defence was shaky, and their attack impotent. Last season seems a long, long time ago. Basel are ahead of Liverpool in Group B, and about to play back-to-back games against Ludogorets, who were beaten at home by Real Madrid tonight and are bottom of the table. Liverpool won’t be looking forward to the visit of the European champions after this dismal display. Daniel Sturridge, Joe Allen and Emre Can can’t come back quickly enough. And then there’s the Steven Gerrard question. Oh, the Steven Gerrard question. Brendan Rodgers has a big decision to make.

Updated at 9.45pm BST

9.37pm BST21:37

90 min +3: Enrique and Sterling combine down the left to set up Henderson on the edge of the box. But Henderson miscontrols and Basel hack clear. They’ll deserve their win.

9.36pm BST21:36

90 min +2: Balotelli goes down under a non-existent challenge, then gets up and waves his arms around a lot while discussing the laws of the game with the referee. He’ll need to watch himself, having already been booked.

9.35pm BST21:35

90 min +1: Zuffi comes on for Hamoudi, who takes quite a while to come off in the professional style. Can you blame him?

9.34pm BST21:34

90 min: There will be three added minutes. “So, a 20 minute substitute appearance away from home in a losing cause against one of the Champions League makeweights,” writes Simon McMahon. “Lallana’s journey is complete.”

Updated at 9.42pm BST

9.33pm BST21:33

88 min: A high ball down the middle. Lambert takes it down adroitly but his lay off for Balotelli is weak, hesitant and cleared. Then Gerrard loops a ball down the inside-right channel to release Balotelli into the box. Balotelli takes one touch to bring the ball down and slips a shot into the bottom-left corner past the advancing Vaclik. A gorgeous finish, but he was a yard offside. Liverpool have had the ball in the net twice tonight, but don’t let that cloud the issue: they’ve been abysmal.

9.31pm BST21:31

86 min: Gerrard carefully curls one towards the top right, but it’s not particularly accurate, and a fairly weak pelt to boot. Vaclik wanders along his line to claim the ball. “The most worrying thing for me, a Liverpool fan, is that this display now seems to be our standard,” opines Paul Devlin. “The Spurs game was the aberration. Last season, it was the opposite. This is our ninth competitive game, I think that is enough to start to chart the form.” They are missing Daniel Sturridge, Joe Allen and Emre Can, of course, but yes the early season signs don’t look good at all. Liverpool have made a 21st-century habit of suffering poor seasons after coming second in the league. Could this be another?

9.28pm BST21:28

85 min: Balotelli and Frei kick each other accidentally while going for the same ball. The referee decides it’s a free kick to Liverpool, 25 yards from goal, level with the right-hand post. That’s a generous decision. Gerrard has tucked the ball under his arm, with a view to taking the set piece, I’ll be bound.

9.26pm BST21:26

82 min: A change made by both sides. Calla replaces Embolo, while Lambert comes on for Markovic. “Carra (63 mins) knew when to say goodbye,” writes Hubert O’Hearn. “It is so rare for a great player to know when to leave, before the career’s memory is sullied by sub-standard performances one after the other. I suspect (and I equally suspect you’ll agree) that Gerrard will not go gently into that good night, instead he shall rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

9.24pm BST21:24

80 min: Serey Die bombs forward in a big-leggy, rangy style. Straight down the middle. He shoots wildly to the right of goal from 25 yards, a little giddy by the yards he’d made on a spectacular sortie.

9.23pm BST21:23

78 min: Real Madrid are now leading at Ludogorets. “The back of Lovren??!!” begins Peter Oh. “Ian McCulloch must be horrified.”

9.21pm BST21:21

77 min: Basel have the funk as Liverpool play on while Hamoudi is down with cramp. Enrique’s low cross from the left is met by Markovic coming in from the right. After Markovic shoots well wide right, Elneny gets right up in his grille, but the Liverpool winger claims he knew nothing about the stricken Basel player.

9.20pm BST21:20

75 min: It’s Liverpool’s best move of the match, as Balotelli, to the left of the D, flicks the ball inside to Lallana, who immediately slides the ball forward to free Sterling into the area. And it’s a hat-trick of hesitation by Sterling, who should be seriously testing the keeper but doesn’t even get a shot away before being dispossessed.

9.18pm BST21:18

73 min: Markovic battles down the right and reaches the byline, but his low zipper into the danger zone is easily mopped up by Schar. Liverpool have given Vaclik very little to do.

9.16pm BST21:16

71 min: Balotelli is booked for stroking Xhaka on the chin after the pair get involved in a common-or-garden tussle. On the touchline, Brendan Rodgers looks on with mild concern.

9.15pm BST21:15

70 min: Lallana comes on for the extremely disappointing Coutinho.

9.15pm BST21:15

69 min: Sterling again has the ball at his feet on the edge of the Basel box. And once again he hesitates, allowing Xhaka to close him down and block his eventual toe-poke. A muted cry for a penalty kick, as the ball hit Xhaka’s midriff and clanked onto his hand, but that was never going to be given at such close quarters.

9.13pm BST21:13

68 min: Elneny should be booked for a cynical little clip on Balotelli’s heel as the striker shapes to shoot from 25 yards. Liverpool don’t even get the free kick as Balotelli slides around on his nipples. In fairness, Jose Enrique was fortunate to escape censure a minute previously for a whack on Serey Die up the other end, so it all levels out.

Updated at 9.20pm BST

9.11pm BST21:11

66 min: Streller puts the ball into Liverpool’s net for a second time, but he’s miles offside while receiving Xhaka’s low left-wing pass on the penalty spot. A nice turn and dispatch into the bottom right, mind you. A few seconds earlier, Embolo ran at the Liverpool defence causing all sorts of panic.

9.11pm BST21:11

65 min: Henderson rakes a gorgeous pass down the middle to set Sterling free, but the young Liverpool star hesitates on the edge of the area and Schar is able to nip past his shoulder and steal off with the ball before he can shoot.

9.08pm BST21:08

63 min: Balotelli, his tail up, shoots from 35 yards. The ball flies at least 40 yards over the bar. That is as wild as you’ll see. “Perhaps it is time for Gerrard to ease into the Lampard phase of his career,” suggests Hubert O’Hearn. “Impact sub, and back in central midfield for 20 minutes of his Roy of the Rovers stuff. I don’t blame Brendan Rodgers one iota for trying Stevie G as a defensive holding player ... but sadly he is more inkless biro than Andrea Pirlo.” Perhaps it’s time for the Carragher phase of his career.

9.06pm BST21:06

61 min: After some interminable faffing, Balotelli takes the free kick - and swerves one at vicious speed towards Vaclik, the ball pinging off the confused keeper’s left shoulder at high speed. The rebound falls to Markovic, coming in from the right. Markovic shoots low, but the ball’s deflected out for a corner on the right. Gerrard gets his head to the set piece, but sends it miles off to the left. Better from Liverpool, though.

9.03pm BST21:03

59 min: Suchy is booked for coming through the back of Markovic. Free kick to Liverpool down the inside-right channel, 30 yards from goal.

9.02pm BST21:02

56 min: The brightest moment so far for Liverpool as Markovic and Coutinho flick a clever one-two down the middle, on the edge of the Basel box, splitting the hosts open for a split second. But the ball doesn’t drop for Markovic to shoot. Suchy comes across to intercept. The ball breaks to Henderson, but his shot is blocked the second it leaves his boot. Gerrard, arriving late, tries to keep the move alive, but his scoop towards the left wing lacks accuracy.

9.00pm BST21:00

55 min: Liverpool deal with this set piece. They’ve just shown the goal again. Not only does Skrtel head the ball backwards towards his own goal, it also clanks off Lovren’s back, the big defender having no idea what’s going on whatsoever.

8.58pm BST20:58

54 min: Liverpool respond brightly, Markovic attempting a bicycle kick from a tight position on the right. But Liverpool are soon on the back foot again, and a flat-footed Gerrard is forced to drag gown Hamoudi as the Basel player tears past him. He’s in the book. And this is a free kick to Basel in a dangerous position on the left, 30 yards from goal.

8.57pm BST20:57

GOAL!!! Basel 1-0 Liverpool (Streller 52)

The ball’s whipped into the centre. Skrtel gets himself into a weird shape, and flicks a header backwards towards the bottom left. Mignolet claws out, but only to Streller, who sweeps home from close range. A complete defensive shambles. But Basel deserve to be in front.

Updated at 9.15pm BST

8.56pm BST20:56

51 min: Hamoudi is sent scampering into vast amounts of space down the left. He takes a stride into the area and goes for the bottom right. Mignolet gets a strong hand to the shot, which is going in, and Lovren hacks over the bar for a corner. From which ...

8.54pm BST20:54

50 min: Hamoudi and Embolo exchange passes as they make their way in from the left, diagonally and into the area. The ball then breaks to Gonzalez inside the area on the right. He’s waiting for the ball to come to him instead of attacking it and shooting. That hesitation allows Sterling to come in from behind and drag him to the ground. It should be a penalty kick but the referee is kind to Liverpool, perhaps fooled by everything happening in slow motion.

8.52pm BST20:52

48 min: The set piece is cleared and Sterling goes off on a zip down the right. He runs into trouble and is robbed of the ball by Suchy, who slaps his arm back in Sterling’s stomach as he races upfield. Sterling drops to the floor as if in all sorts of medical trouble, but he’s soon up and about again, having failed to win a free kick for nothing.

8.51pm BST20:51

And we're off again!

Liverpool launch an immediate attack through Coutinho and Markovic, but it’s nothing much more than a hoof and chase. Basel are soon flying up the other end through Gonzalez down the right. His low ball into the box is flicked on by Streller, and hooked out for a corner by Lovren.

8.38pm BST20:38

Half-time culture: Courtesy of Jean Daetwyler, born in Basel and a dab hand with the old alphorn.

8.35pm BST20:35

HALF TIME: Basel 0-0 Liverpool

A fairly dull half, though the home team were in the ascendency for most of it. Liverpool need to shake it up a bit. It might be an idea to utilise Adam Lallana, who has been showing signs of rediscovering his Southampton form in the last couple of games. Markovic has been very disappointing, though in fairness neither Gerrard nor Balotelli have been much better.

8.33pm BST20:33

45 min: Basel win a corner, Embolo causing all manner of bother with a ball-glued-to-boot skitter down the right wing. Easily cleared. Then Xhaka wins another off Jose Enrique, but that’s no problem for Liverpool either. It’s just as well for Liverpool that Basel’s set piece delivery has been so average, because they’ve had a fair few chances to pump the ball into their box.

8.30pm BST20:30

43 min: Balotelli, attackingh down the right wing, tussles with Schar by the corner flag. He circumvents his man but is hauled down. Free kick, which is basically a corner. Coutinho whips it to the far post. Lovren powers a header down, the ball bouncing back up towards the top-left corner. But by then the sting’s out of the effort, and Vaclik plucks the ball from the sky. A little better by Liverpool in the last five minutes or so.

8.28pm BST20:28

42 min: This is a little better, Sterling battling away for a high ball down the inside-left channel, beating Xhaka, and launching a rising shot goalwards from the edge of the box. It’s straight at Vaclik and therefore easily dealt with, but at least Liverpool have given him something to do.

8.27pm BST20:27

40 min: Ah here’s Jose Enrique! He’s in the Basel area, after a clever dink by Sterling. He stands one up to the far post, where Henderson is winding his neck back to nut one home. Suchy heads behind for a corner. The set piece is headed over by Lovren. Liverpool have done next to nothing in attack. There’s no sense of danger from them at all.

8.25pm BST20:25

38 min: Embolo goes up for a ball sent into the Liverpool area from the left with Lovren. He flicks it on to Gonzalez, once more in acres of space in the right-hand half of the area, Jose Enrique having possibly gone home. He’s preparing to take the ball down and shoot, when the flag goes up for offside. That’s a fortunate flag for Liverpool, because he was well on.

8.22pm BST20:22

35 min: Mignolet is finally forced into action, Serey Die ambling along a baroque route down the right into the Liverpool box, one-twoing with Elneny, and toe-punting one towards the bottom right. Mignolet is there to hack clear with a reactive swing of the leg.

8.20pm BST20:20

34 min: Manquillo in a lot of space down the right with Balotelli waiting for a delivery in the middle. But the right back chunks his cross, which bobbles harmlessly into the hands of Vaclik.

8.19pm BST20:19

32 min: Two penalties in the other match in this group. Both have been taken by Cristiano Ronaldo, but only one has been scored. Real Madrid are at least now level against Ludogorets.

Updated at 8.28pm BST

8.18pm BST20:18

30 min: A first sparkle by Markovic, who nearly achieves something down the inside left in combination with Coutinho, but a couple of fancy flicks aren’t enough to fashion space for a shot. Liverpool are soon coming back at Basel, Henderson latching onto a loose ball to the right of the Basel D and firing for the bottom left, but his shot is scuffed and hits the offside, sleeping Markovic.

8.16pm BST20:16

28 min: The busy Embolo feeds Elneny down the left. From the corner of the Liverpool box, Elneny looks to fire a rising heatseeker into the top right. It’d have been a spectacular one, but it sails well wide right. Liverpool were opened up again, though. Basel are completely in charge, without being rampant. And without Mignolet having to make a save, it should be said.

8.14pm BST20:14

26 min: Gerrard has quite rightly had the set-piece rights taken away from him. Coutinho’s free kick is barely better, easily cleared, and Manquillo blooters an awful shot from distance miles over the bar for three of the rugby-style points.

8.13pm BST20:13

25 min: Serey Die can be a clumsy bugger sometimes. Now he’s bundling over Balotelli down the right, with the Liverpool player going nowhere. Free kick, which has to wait as something’s been thrown onto the pitch from a stand full of Basel fans behind the goal. A cigarette lighter, maybe. The referee makes sure it’s all recorded officially, and we play on.

8.10pm BST20:10

23 min: Liverpool’s defence down the Basel right is a risible shambles. I have no idea what Jose Enrique is up to, or indeed where he is. Gonzalez was hanging around waiting for the pass that’d send him clear, but didn’t receive it. That would have been a one-on-one had Frei seen his team-mate there. Instead the ball’s shuttled to the left of the Liverpool D, where Elneny attempts to curl home into the top right. It’s on target, but there’s no power, and Mignolet claims well. Basel look dangerous every time they come forward, only to repeatedly either choose the wrong pass or miscontrol.

8.08pm BST20:08

21 min: Good pressing by Balotelli down the left, and Basel give up possession. Coutinho looks to break into the box, but he’s upended by a clumsy lunge from Serey Die. Free kick. Can Gerrard do any better this time? No. His delivery is way too high, and easily claimed by Vaclik. A few seconds before that little period of play, there was minor scare in the Liverpool area, with the ball dropping towards Streller’s feet in space to the left-hand side of the box, but Manquillo was on hand to whip the ball clear.

Updated at 8.16pm BST

8.05pm BST20:05

19 min: Balotelli earns a free kick with a decent turn into not much space down the right touchline, Schar the guilty man. Gerrard’s curled free kick doesn’t beat the first defender. That’s abysmal.

8.04pm BST20:04

18 min: Enrique allows Gonzalez another acre of grass down the Basel right. Again the winger can’t control, and a chance for a shot at Mignolet is spurned. Basel are right on top here.

8.03pm BST20:03

16 min: Basel are playing three at the back now, Gonzalez being an attacking player. He’s nearly set free into the Liverpool box by a delightful crossfield scoop from Embolo, who was afforded a little too much time 25 yards from goal in the middle. But the ball clanks off Gonzalez’s shin and out of play, with Enrique miles out of position. “Liverpool actually,” replies Patrick Crumlish (5 mins). “Just thought it was ironic of light of this morning’s piece.”

7.59pm BST19:59

13 min: Streller looks dangerous again, advancing on the Liverpool box after Gerrard is caught sleeping 25 yards from goal. He’s let the ball run under his foot while yawning and scratching his arse. Very poor. Streller’s low shot is blocked by Skrtel, who is putting himself about to good effect for Liverpool right now. That’s yet another corner, but Mignolet claims this one without too much fuss.

7.58pm BST19:58

10 min: Gonzalez comes on for the stricken Safari. Streller goes on a stroll down the inside-right channel and wins yet another corner, this time off Skrtel. The set piece is another nonsense - Basel have wasted all three so far, putting no pressure on Liverpool’s poor defence whatsoever - but that was a very dangerous looking run by Streller.

7.56pm BST19:56

8 min: Real Madrid are a goal down at Ludogorets. Basel still haven’t got their sub on for Safari. Corner for Liverpool down the right. Gerrard takes. The ball’s cleared easily enough, and Sterling goes haring after Hamoudi, who is attempting to break upfield quickly. Sterling bundles his opponent over with much cynicism, and is booked for his trouble.

7.53pm BST19:53

7 min: Embolo wins a corner of Enrique down the right, having come first in a foot race to a loose ball. Xhaka hoicks a useless set piece straight through the box. Liverpool’s infamously rickety defence has yet to be tested.

7.52pm BST19:52

5 min: Safari has pulled something in his right knee, chasing a ball down the right with Balotelli not particularly near him. He won’t be able to continue. He’s currently getting helped off the pitch. “Adam Lallana is finally fulfilling his boyhood dream of sitting on the bench during a Champions League match, then,” observes Patrick Crumlish, who may or may not be a season-ticket holder at St Mary’s.

7.50pm BST19:50

2 min: To be fair, Liverpool clear the corner easily enough. They’re soon on the attack themselves, and Manquillo zips a low cross into the Basel box from the right. Suchy miskicks, leaving Sterling with only Vaclik to beat. He hits the base of the left-hand post, then slots the rebound away into the bottom right. A 2013/14-style fast start for Liverpool? Nope, because Sterling was a yard offside as Manquillo crosses. That’ll give a stuttering team succour, though.

7.48pm BST19:48

And we're off!

The hosts get the first half underway. There’s a lovely bouncing buzz in St. Jakob-Park. Basel winning a corner through Hamoudi down the left within 20 seconds keeps the crowd going. The ball’s also hit Jose Enrique on the back during this opening 20-second period, so don’t expect Liverpool to be too convincing at the back tonight. You weren’t expecting them to be too convincing at the back, were you.

7.44pm BST19:44

The teams are out! The Champions League theme is parping out of the public address system. Lines are formed and hands are shaken. Basel are wearing their famous rotblau shirts, later ripped off by some chancers from Catalunya ...

... while Liverpool are in their change kit of yellow.

7.11pm BST19:11

The teams are in ...

Basel make three changes from the side hammered 5-1 by Real Madrid, with leading scorer Breel Embolo preferred up front to Paraguayan Derlis Gonzalez and Walter Samuel out injured: Vaclik, Xhaka, Schar, Suchy, Safari, Die, Frei, El-Nenny, Embolo, Hamoudi, Streller.Subs: Vailati, Zuffi, Delgado, Gashi, Kakitani, Gonzalez, Calla.

Liverpool leave out Alberto Moreno and Adam Lallana: Mignolet, Manquillo, Lovren, Skrtel, Jose Enrique, Henderson, Gerrard, Markovic, Sterling, Balotelli, Coutinho.Subs: Brad Jones, Toure, Lambert, Moreno, Lallana, Lucas, Borini.

Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)

6.45pm BST18:45

Liverpool first played FC Basel on a landmark night for the football club: the 100th European fixture at Anfield. The game turned out to be ever so slightly nondescript, a 1-1 Champions League group-stage draw in September 2002 which Liverpool probably deserved to win. But it’s the return fixture which everyone remembers, an absurd 3-3 draw just over two months later at St. Jakob-Park, Gerard Houllier’s side falling three goals down within half an hour, before staging an improbable second-half comeback which wouldn’t be quite enough to keep them in the competition. Basel advanced instead. Looking back now, that abortive Champions League campaign was the beginning of the end of Houllier’s reign, as Liverpool were also given an awful chasing home and away by Valencia, managed by one Rafael Benitez. Funny how things work out.

Basel’s 2002 humiliation of Liverpool - and especially a listless Steven Gerrard, who was hooked at half time in favour of Salif Diao (!) - came as something of a shock back then. Liverpool had made the quarter finals of the Champions League the season before, while it was the Swiss club’s first appearance in Europe’s premier competition since 1980. The balance of power isn’t quite the same today. Liverpool are feeling their way back to the big time after a five-year absence, while Basel made the round of 16 last season. During Liverpool’s absence, Basle have beaten Chelsea twice and Manchester United once in the Champions League, and seen off Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League to boot. All things considered, Liverpool could do worse than make off with a point after another 3-3 draw tonight, that’s for sure.

Kick off: 8.45pm in Basel, 7.45pm back on Merseyside.