Toulouse 3-2 Liverpool: Yet MORE VAR drama sees Reds denied late equaliser in France as Jurgen Klopp’s side are stunned after abject performance as Luis Diaz starts on day his dad is released

UEFA promotional material around the Stade de Toulouse has hyped the ‘Road to Dublin’ and this cross-Channel journey proved that there will be plenty of perhaps unforeseen obstacles along the way if Liverpool are to reach the Europa League final in Ireland. capital.

Jürgen Klopp’s team was not only defeated by the French opponent, but also outplayed. Although they were furious that VAR scored an equalizer in stoppage time, this sub-par performance showed that no opposition should be written off, even in Europe’s second tier. competition.

Young defender Jarell Quansah was cruelly denied a first goal in professional football in the 97th minute due to Alexis Mac Allister’s handball in the build-up, and that controversy could distract from the fact that this was a dismal display.

Liverpool came into this season with a 100 per cent league record and looked set to reach the knockout stages, while they are the bookmakers’ favorites to go all the way before third-placed Champions League teams end up in Europe. Competition.

And while this was just a minor bump in the road for Liverpool, who are still well on course to get through this group, it has made it clear that they still have some weaknesses and that the road to Dublin may not be is as simple as some. could have predicted.

The anger centered around the fact that the Argentine’s foul came almost a minute before Quansah poked the ball home, and Liverpool felt that a new phase of play had begun and therefore VAR should not have pulled the ball back so far.

The Reds made a habit of slow starts and poor first-half performances in the opening weeks of the season, and that sub-par start seemed to be a thing of the past. But Klopp’s side were sloppy and listless and lacked any attacking threat in the first 45 minutes.

Joe Gomez, who led the team out as captain, had the best chance of the first half after just four minutes when he turned Cody Gakpo’s free kick onto the crossbar with a header. Gomez, who has made just under 200 appearances for Liverpool, is still looking for his first goal.

The Reds had a few more half-chances – Alexis Mac Allister and Ben Doak both forced saves from Guillaume Restes – but Toulouse’s well-drilled defense grew in confidence and began to venture forward with energy and efficiency.

Toulouse enjoyed the biggest day in their history last season when they won the French Cup for the first time and their fans unveiled a giant banner with a nod to the classic film Les Bronzes. Their fans, a sea of ​​purple shirts, bounced up and down throughout the match, creating a raucous atmosphere.

Liverpool seemed to be struggling with that and their second-string side, made up of nine changes to the side that started in Luton on Sunday, did not look good. They were lazy in possession and were given a warning signal after 28 minutes when Gabriel Suazo shot just wide from close range.

But the next loss of concentration cost Liverpool dearly, as Kostas Tsimikas unnecessarily lost possession to Aron Donnum in his own half. The Norwegian winger then charged through on goal and finished confidently, although he was helped by a slight deflection from Quansah.

It felt like Liverpool were second-guessing every loose ball, losing every 50-50 battle and not having a presence up front. Mohamed Salah, Trent-Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai were introduced at half-time as Klopp tried to inject some momentum and urgency.

Yet the introduction of the trio hardly changed the pattern of the match. If anything, they were worse. Toulouse continued to attack bravely, with Suazo missing a golden opportunity seconds into half-time after Thijs Dallinga exploited the gaping holes behind the Reds defence.

Toulouse fans were apoplectic after 50 minutes when Dallinga had a goal disallowed for a small trip on Joel Matip, but the Dutchman, who scored twice in that famous French Cup victory, pulled away in celebration just minutes later.

Diaz was dispossessed in his own half and Vincent Sierro sent a vicious cross to Dallinga, who set up superbly with a deft first touch to fire across Caiomhin Kelleher’s goal to double the French side’s lead.

However, Toulouse did not sit back and continued to cause problems. They scored a disallowed goal for the second time in the 66th minute after Donnum produced a neat finish – again exposing poor defending – but was withdrawn for earlier offside in the build-up.

Darwin Nunez was the next big name sent on by Klopp in a quest to rescue an important point and seconds later they pulled a goal back, after Gomez’s header was converted into his own goal by Cristian Casseres despite not being able to was under pressure.

It was a bit of luck that Liverpool needed and with the firepower they now had on the pitch, the comeback seemed to be underway. But Toulouse restored their two-goal lead just three minutes later when Kelleher fumbled a cross and Frank Magri fired at the back post.

Diogo Jota was Klopp’s fifth and final substitution and he made the biggest impact when he replaced Diaz. The Portuguese pulled a goal back for Liverpool after 89 minutes with a neat left-footed finish after a good fight from Mac Allister.

Quansah thought he had produced a moment of magic with seconds left on the clock but was cruelly denied an equalizer after VAR pulled it back due to an earlier handball. There was no doubt about the handball, but the Reds fans were furious that it was almost a minute before the goal.