We can see the line but I cannot say now, “This is our only chance of being in the Champions League”.
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“Maybe it’s a different team but we shouldn’t think too much about the final”.
“For a club like Augsburg the competition is the biggest money they can get in Europe because the Champions League is far away”.
Mignolet made a good stop at close range in first half injury time in what was possibly Augsburg’s best chance of the game.
“The players didn’t underestimate Augsburg, when we play in the return we will be very well prepared – they may not be Munich or Paris, but we will be very well prepared”. Indeed, they have fallen at this stage on the last two occasions they entered the Europa League, in 2013 and 2015, losing to Besiktas and Zenit St Petersburg.
Although the Reds became the first visiting side to stop their Bundesliga opponents scoring at home in European competition this season, Klopp still expected more from his players.
As the game livened up, Liverpool piled on pressure and saw Sturridge test Hitz from distance, while Konstantinos Stafylidis cut out a unsafe Clyne delivery. They’ve earned 21 points through 21 matches, good for 14th place in Germany’s top division. But their performances in the Europa League have been a saving grace.
“Doing the right thing at the right moment is important – we had a few good moments and in the second half we had three or four really good moves”.
Markus Weinzierl’s side come into this fixture without a win in last four matches, which includes two consecutive defeats in the last two fixtures.
“We didn’t play as well as we could have”, Henderson told Liverpool’s official website. A win would be invaluable.
Augsburg nearly stole the aggregate lead late on when a ball across from the right was nodded downwards to Ji Dong-won, who hit a low volley against the post, but the tie will now be decided in the second leg at Anfield.
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Speaking after the stalemate, Klopp was clearly frustrated, telling BT Sport he was “not 100 per cent satisfied” and pointing to his side’s inconsistency. The hosts are also likely to be without Jan Moravek (mild concussion) and Jeong-Ho Hong (thigh).
