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Liverpool vs Ludogorets: UEFA Champions League scores, result

16th September, 2014
Kickoff: Wednesday 17 September 4:45am AEST
Venue: Anfield, Liverpool
Head-to-head: No previous matches
Betting: Liverpool $1.22, Draw $6.50, Ludogorets $15.00
Steven Gerrard is playing abroad, but is certainly no longer in his prime.
Roar Guru
16th September, 2014
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1830 Reads

MATCH RESULT:

A injury-time penalty to Liverpool‘s Steven Gerrard saved Liverpool in their Champions League opener against Ludogorets.

Liverpool took the lead in the dying stages of the game only to have in wrangled back in the first minute of extra time.

A lucky win, but a win all the same in Liverpool’s first Champions League appearance since 2009/10.

FINAL SCORE:
Liverpool 2
Ludogorets 1

MATCH PREVIEW:

Liverpool make their long-awaited return to Europe’s premier footballing competition, hosting Bulgarian treble-winners Ludogorets Razgrad at Anfield on Wednesday morning. Join The Roar for live scores from 4:30am (AEST).

Liverpool will be looking to make a strong statement in front of their home crowd in their Matchday 1 appearance, their first in the Champions League since 2009-10.

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The Reds will be without a number of first-team players, with Joe Allen, Emre Can, Daniel Sturridge, Glen Johnson and Martin Skrtl ruled out through injury, and Lazar Markovic banned for a red card in his last Europa League match.

However, Brendan Rodgers and his men will be buoyed by the likely return of teenage sensation Raheem Sterling. The Jamaica-born England international has gone from strength to strength in the past two seasons, and is the spark that lights the Liverpool wildfire in attack.

This match presents the first opportunity for Sterling to test himself on club football’s biggest stage.

His presence will surely worry Ludogorets manager Georgi Dermendzhiev, whose tactics must be water-tight to contain the attacking midfielder-cum-winger.

However, Sterling is not the only man with a point to prove. Almost a decade on since he last won the Champions League with Liverpool, iconic Captain Steven Gerrard believes this could be the year he once again tastes European success.

‘I’ve got a lot of confidence in Brendan [Rodgers] and in the squad… If we go out in the group stages, or the last 16, we will be majorly, majorly disappointed. We want to progress. We want to go as far as we can. This can’t be a one-off. This can’t be, “Isn’t it great where we are?”‘

Liverpool fans could be forgiven for believing their opponents will be easybeats. Liverpool scored without restraint last season, and have one of the best squads in the world.

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In comparison, the Bulgarians are minnows, a small bump on the road to reclaiming their former glory.

However, Ludogorets have lost only two of their last eight away games in the European competition, whereas Liverpool have won just two of their last eight at home or away in the Champions League.

The Razgrad-based side have won the Bulgarian League for the last four years running, as well as filling their trophy cabinet with other peripheral trophies.

Their spine will be steeled in expectation of a tough outing, and Liverpool, missing a number of their bigger names, will have a job to do.

Whether Liverpool trounce the Bulgarians or Ludogorets can frustrate, defend, and grind their way to a good result, the match will excite fans all around the world, none more so than Liverpool fans, who will be eager to see their team’s ‘homecoming’.

Tip: It’s hard to see past a Liverpool victory at home, in their first match in the Champions League for nearly five years.

Liverpool 4-1.

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