EUROPA LEAGUE QUALIFIER FC Gomel 0 Liverpool 1:BRENDAN RODGERS'S first match in charge of Liverpool ended in victory after a 1-0 win against Gomel in their Europa League third qualifying round first leg tie at the Central Stadion in Belarus last night.
Stewart Downing’s 25-yard effort midway through the second half was enough to give the Reds the edge going into the second leg match at Anfield next Wednesday.
Gomel dominated the majority of the game and the Merseysiders were lucky to leave with the win after the hosts missed plenty of chances.
Liverpool’s back four looked rocky throughout and it was poor finishing rather than the performance of goalkeeper Brad Jones which cost the home side.
Gomel, who are halfway through their domestic season, were full of energy and pressed Liverpool high up the pitch, giving the visitors little time to dwell on the ball.
Rodgers promised he would take the competition seriously and picked a strong side although Daniel Agger and Andy Carroll – both of whom have been linked with moves away from Anfield – stayed in back in England.
Steven Gerrard was captain, while Jamie Carragher made his 700th Liverpool appearance and was partnered in the heart of the defence by Martin Skrtel.
Joe Cole, who spent last season on loan at Lille, also started – while summer signing Fabio Borini led the line in a 4-3-3 formation.
However, former Chelsea man Cole lasted just 23 minutes as he hobbled off with what appeared to be a hamstring injury, with 17-year-old Raheem Sterling his replacement.
Both teams began slowly although the visitors showed they were already buying into the Rodgers approach, with the vast majority of their football played on the floor.
Gomel were made to pay for their incompetence in front of goal when in the 67 minute — following the introduction of Lucas for Jordan Henderson — the visitors went in front.
Downing cut inside from the right and unopposed from 25 yards fired past Vladimir Bushma into the left-hand corner.
The goal deflated the home side, with Liverpool keeping possession well for the remainder of the game.
FC GOMEL: Gomel, Bushma, Kirilchik, Klimovich, Voronkov, Matveichik, Kashevsky, Kozeka (Timoshenko 90), Levitskiy, (Demidovich 84), Nowak (Lipatkin 74), Alumona, Platonov. Booked: Klimovich, Alumona.
LIVERPOOL: Jones, Johnson (Kelly 46), Jose Enrique, Carragher, Skrtel, Gerrard, Cole (Sterling 23), Henderson (Lucas 66 ), Downing, Spearing, Borini. Booked: Jones, Henderson.
Referee: Ivan Kruzliak(Slo)
