Liverpool vs. Ludogorets: Winners and Losers from Champions League Game

Well, Liverpool’s return to the Champions League was never going to be a quiet one, was it?

A remarkable ending to the home clash with Ludogorets Razgrad saw Mario Balotelli fire home his first Reds goal just eight minutes from time, only for poor home defending to allowing visiting substitute Dani Abalo to equalise in stoppage time.

Just as the Reds were cursing the fact that three points had gotten away from them, a poor control from debutant Ludogorets goalkeeper Milan Borjan allowed Javier Manquillo to steal the ball from him and be tripped for a penalty.

Step forward Steven Gerrard, who as on so many Champions League nights before turned out to be Liverpool’s hero in stoppage time.

But who were the winners and losers of the night? Here’s a rundown.

It was a tough evening for Mario Balotelli, who was the target of some fierce challenges from the Bulgarian side just as he was against Aston Villa on Saturday.

Around 10 minutes remained when he reacted to another challenge from behind from Cosmin Moti, which seemed to fire the Italian up. He got into the box, controlled Alberto Moreno’s cross and finished instinctively for his first Liverpool goal.

He still doesn’t look completely at home in this environment and in this team, but this strike could be the start of something special for Balotelli, who will also feel as though a weight has been lifted.

At a time when talk that Liverpool are set to bring in free-agent goalkeeper Victor Valdes is at an all-time high, as reported by the Daily Mail's Dominic King, Simon Mignolet could really do with an impressive run in the Champions League to try and establish his reputation at the club.

Unfortunately, he appears susceptible to moments of uncertainty and of outright absent-mindedness at the worst possible times, something which goalkeepers for the very top clubs work hard to avoid.

It’s more a mental thing than a physical one, but Mignolet’s wander out of goal for what looked to be the strike which earned Ludogorets a precious point was so, so avoidable. As he could be in Brendan Rodgers’ team selections soon.

As with the Villa game on Saturday, Liverpool were being forced into wide areas to try and find some creativity because it was proved so packed in the centre.

The two Spanish full-backs were therefore arguably their two most important players, and once again they didn’t let their side down, with Alberto Moreno particularly impressive in bombing down the left flank and looking to provide good crosses, as he eventually did for Balotelli’s goal.

Javier Manquillo doesn’t have his compatriot’s speed or dynamism but showed in the closing moments that he can get forward and make a difference when needed. He played well, and his intervention to win the penalty right at the end could prove so crucial to the rest of the campaign.

The system that Rodgers is playing in the absence of the injured Daniel Sturridge requires his attacking midfielders to impress, but one doesn’t look anywhere near peak condition yet and another is woefully out of form.

Adam Lallana had no pre-season at all after he picked up a knee injury in the United States, and his sluggishness showed when he often appeared to be a step or two off the pace.

For Philippe Coutinho, so vibrant at times last season, the problem isn’t fitness but form. Every pass seems a little off at the moment, and he looks to be trying to force the issue to try and make things work. They aren’t.

Of course the Bulgarians weren’t the actual winners, but they were metaphorical ones as they scared Liverpool to within an inch of their lives in front of the Kop.

The minnows put up a terrific fight, and while it is easy to patronise them, they should also be lauded for a performance which they surely were inspired to give after watching Villa on Saturday.

It is incredibly likely that Real Madrid will batter every team in this group—as they did to FC Basel at the Bernabeu—and so Ludogorets shouldn’t be too downhearted if the European champions ruthlessly brush them aside when they next face them in Bulgaria.

They can take points from three fixtures against the other teams in this group and thus aren’t out of equation just yet, however deflated they’ll be from this.