Liverpool must put an end to their recurring slow starts to games in their Champions League encounter with Rangers on Tuesday.
The Reds have led at halftime in just three of their last 20 games in all competitions and in two of their 10 outings this season.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have conceded the first goal in 12 of their last 15 games in all competitions, going down 1-0 in the first five minutes in five of those matches.
They have only been in winning positions in three of their seven Premier League games so far this season.
Liverpool have only kept two clean sheets in the last 13 games in all competitions.
They have not kept a clean sheet in European competition since a 2-0 semi-final victory at home over Villarreal last season.
a historic occasion
The teams meet for the first time in Europe and the Scottish club will be the Reds’ 134th different opponent in European competition.
They last met in a friendly 11 years ago this month, when Rangers won 1-0 at Ibrox.
Rangers will be the fifth different Scottish team to face Liverpool in Europe after Celtic, Hibernian, Aberdeen and Hearts.
Liverpool have lost to Scottish opposition once at Anfield in seven games, with Celtic winning on Merseyside in the UEFA Cup quarter-final in March 2003.
The Reds’ biggest win over opposition from north of the border came in November 1980 when Aberdeen, managed by Alex Ferguson, were dispatched 4-0 at Anfield in the European Cup. The hosts went on to lift the trophy.
300 for Milly?
This game could see James Milner play his 300th game for Liverpool.
His appearance against Ajax last month was the 50th for the Reds in the Champions League.
Liverpool’s last red card in Europe came five years ago today, when Joe Gomez was sent off in the last minute of a 2-2 draw at home with Sevilla.
Joel Matip has now scored for Liverpool in each of his seven seasons at Anfield. The 2021/22 campaign was the most prolific with three goals.
The centre-back’s goal against Ajax last month was his first in the Champions League in nine years when he netted against Basel while at Schalke.
In the last game of the group stage Stefan Bajcetic became the youngest player to play for Liverpool in the Champions League, at 17 years and 326 days and the fourth youngest in Europe in the club’s history after Phil Charnock, Raheem Sterling and Michael Owen.
Reds vs. Rangers
In the Europa League in November 2020, Darwin Núñez came off the bench to score a 91st-minute equalizer against Rangers in a Europa League group stage match that ended 3–3 in Lisbon.
Luis DÃaz scored against ‘The Gers’ in a Europa League group stage match in October 2019. It was the opening goal in Porto’s 1-1 draw.
Andy Robertson has faced the Rangers five times in his career with one win and four losses.
Against Dundee alone (four times) Calvin Ramsay made more appearances for Aberdeen than against Rangers (three).
dazzling bobby
Roberto Firmino is the club’s top scorer this season with five goals. His last in Europe came in April’s 3-3 home draw with Benfica.
The Brazilian has scored five goals in his last 227 minutes of action at Anfield in the last four matches.
Liverpool’s last hat-trick in Europe was scored by Diogo Jota, who scored three against Atalanta in the 2020/21 Champions League group stage.
Philippe Coutinho scored the last European hat-trick at Anfield in a 7-0 win over Spartak Moscow in December 2017.
back in the big time
This is Rangers’ first season in the Champions League group stage in 12 years. That season they finished third behind Manchester United and Valencia.
They have won one of their last 18 Champions League group stage games, beating Turkey’s Bursaspor 1-0 at Ibrox in 2010-11, with 11 defeats in that sequence. Since then, they have played twice in the qualifying round, losing both times to Malmo.
This season they defeated Union Saint-Gilloise 3-2 on aggregate in the Final Qualifying Round and then defeated PSV Eindhoven 3-2 on aggregate, beating the Netherlands 1-0 in the second leg, with a goal from Antonio Colak.
He is looking for his first goal of this group stage after losing 0-4 against Ajax and in his last match 0-3 at home against Napoli.
They have won two of their last 13 away games in Europe and one of their last six (against PSV).
After losing three games in a row, Rangers have won the last two: they beat Dundee United 2-1 at Ibrox and followed that up with a 4-0 win at Hearts last Saturday, with two goals from Antonio Colak and another from Alfredo. Morelos and Ryan Kent, former Liverpool player.
familiar faces
Last summer, Rangers signed Ben Davies from Liverpool for a fee of £4m. He never made a first-team appearance for the Reds and came off the bench eight times.
Kent made one appearance for Liverpool – at Exeter in a 2-2 FA Cup draw in January 2016. He joined Rangers on loan for the 2018-19 season, a campaign in which he was voted Young Player of the Year. of the PFA. He made the move permanent on him in the summer of 2019 for £7m.
Against Napoli last month, Allan McGregor became Rangers’ oldest player in the Champions League proper, aged 40 years and 226 days. David Weir was 41 years old when he featured against Malmo in a qualifying match for the same competition in July 2011.
McGregor was in goal the last time Rangers met Liverpool, in a friendly at Ibrox in October 2011. His side won 1-0.
Manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst played Liverpool three times during his playing career, all for Arsenal. He lost at Anfield in December 2001 by a score of 2-1.
Liverpool-born John Lundstram has lost all four of his previous games against Liverpool, wearing Sheffield United colors on each occasion.
Antonio Colak’s goal in the play-off win against PSV is Rangers’ only goal in their last five away games in Europe. That game saw them keep their only clean sheet in their last 10 European away games.
Colak has scored four goals in his club’s last two games.
referee tonight
Clement Turpin, who refereed last season’s Champions League final, will be in charge at Anfield.
It was the fourth time Turpin has overseen a Liverpool match and the first loss under his tenure with two wins and a draw for the Reds in their previous three games since 2015/16.
He also officiated Rangers’ 4-2 win against Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League last February.
Top scorers this season
Liverpool: Firmino 5, DÃaz 4, Salah 4, Alexander-Arnold 2, Carvalho 2, Núñez 2, Elliott 1, Matip 1, Van Dijk 1, own goals 2.
Rangers: Colak 11, Arfield 4, Lawrence 3, Tavernier 3, Morelos 2, Tillman 2, Davis 1, Kent 1, Lundstram 1, Ure 1.
*Stats courtesy of LFC statistician Ged Rea (@ged0407).
