Published 07:01 IST, November 6th 2019
Oxlade Chamberlain's goal helps Liverpool beat Genk 2-1 and lead group
Alex Oxlade Chamberlain scored the winner during Liverpool's home match against Genk in the UEFA Champions League. He scored the winner in the second half
- SportFit
- 3 min read
Liverpool secured all three points in their UEFA Champions League group stage match against Genk at Anfield on Tuesday evening. It was not the trademark Liverpool win of free-flowing football but Georginio Wijnaldum and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain helped the club win the match.
At the top from the beginning
Liverpool got the first goal early on in the 13' after a James Milner cross from the left saw the ball touch two Genk players but neither could control the ball and it bounced for Wijnaldum, who poked the ball in the top corner of the net. The home side did have a few attempts on goal through Mohammed Salah but the Egyptian was not able to get the ball at the back of the net. A cross from the right flank was dealt wonderfully by Trent Alexander-Arnold to deny Samatta an opportunity, but the resulting corner saw Samatta score a header to restore parity going into half-time.
Seven minutes after the restart, the ball fell to Salah just outside the penalty box and his quick feet helped him pass the ball to Chamberlain, who was even quicker to score the winner. The former Arsenal man received and stopped the ball with his right foot, turned around and drilled the ball in the bottom-right corner with his left foot. It was not all Liverpool, and although the away side were down, they were definitely not out of the contest. Heynen received a ball on the left of the box and his attempt to the far corner was parried away by Alisson Becker.
In the post-match press conference, manager Jurgen Klopp said, "The most important thing is that we won and nobody is injured. The result is because we didn’t finish our situations off like we should and could have done. That keeps the game pretty exciting and left Genk pretty much alive. We could have scored goals already in the first half. It was clear it will be a bit tricky in some departments because the front three never played together in these positions and in a formation like this. But we wanted to have Ox between the lines, to give him the space to turn and run and face the last line, giving us options right and left. That worked out pretty well sometimes. Match winner Chamberlain, while speaking to UEFA.com said, "I don’t think I’ve ever scored on a regular basis, but it’s nice to be scoring goals again. I know I can still improve on the defensive side of things, but it always means a lot to score and help the team."
Updated 08:08 IST, November 6th 2019