Union St.-Gilloise 2-1 Liverpool (14 Dec, 2023) Game Analysis

An inexperienced Liverpool side completed their Europa League group stage campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Union St.-Gilloise in Belgium on Thursday.

With 12 points to their name, Liverpool had already secured first place in Group E and a place in the round of 16 of the European secondary competition.

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Despite the victory, Union failed to secure second place or a place in the round of 16 playoffs as Toulouse defeated LASK Linz in the group's other final match. Instead, Union will have to settle for third place in the group and qualify for the Europa Conference League knockout playoffs.

Mohamed Amoura gave Union the lead with a close range goal in the 32nd minute after getting the better of Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.

Liverpool, however, took just seven minutes to get back level through Jarell Quansah. The 20-year-old defender collected a corner from Curtis Jones just inside the penalty area and unleashed a powerful strike into the net for his first senior Liverpool goal.

Union came back in front for good shortly before half-time when Cameron Puertas found the net. Puertas thought he had scored a second goal after the break, but he was ruled out following a VAR review for a handball in the build-up.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp made nine changes from the team that beat Crystal Palace on Saturday, ahead of the Premier League leaders' meeting with rivals Manchester United on Sunday.

With an average age of 22 years and 156 days, it was Liverpool's youngest team never lined up in a European match. Among those given a rare chance to impress was 19-year-old Kaide Gordon, who was making his first senior appearance since January 2022.