Balotelli and Steven Gerrard Set Liverpool To Three Points In Champions League

Liverpool wins in its Champions League return as Mario Balotelli and Steven Gerrard Score Which Gave Them a Three Pionts Against Ludogorets

It’s fitting that Liverpool’s first Champions League game in almost five years ended so dramatically. While Liverpool outplayed Ludogorets, a team which is inferior on paper, its victory never was certain.
Liverpool struggled to break down Ludogorets for over 80 minutes until Balotelli scored a scrappy, yet utterly important goal. Liverpool should have managed the rest of the game but they lost focus near the end, and Ludogorets exploited a seam in the defense.
It looked like Liverpool’s night would descend from joy to disappointment, but Borjan committed a careless foul on Manquillo in stoppage time, and Gerrard converted the ensuing spot-kick like he always does.
In this case, the result was more important than the performance, as Liverpool joins Real Madrid atop Group B of the Champions League with three points. Liverpool’s next Champions League game is on Oct. 1 when it travels to Basel to face the best Switzerland has to offer. A win there would put the Reds on course for progression to the knockout rounds.