On Qatar’s National Day — exactly three years ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup final — Liverpool left it late to secure a passage to the Club World Cup final, where it will take on South American champion Flamengo.
Despite playing 7,135 kms away from Merseyside, Jurgen Klopp’s team’s penchant to leave it late continued as Roberto Firmino scored an injury-time winner to secure a fortuitous 2-1 win over Monterrey, representing CONCACAF here.
Injuries and illness forced Liverpool to make a slew of changes with skipper Jordan Henderson partnering Joe Gomez in defence, while Divok Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri started alongside Mohamed Salah upfront.
Salah shines
Salah was instrumental in finding the breakthrough in the 12th minute as he received the ball — with his back to the goal — from an advancing James Milner and outfoxed his marker Leonel Vangioni with a sharp turn before threading a perfect pass on to the path of Naby Keita, who finished calmly.
The lead, however, was short-lived as Henderson, playing in an unfamiliar position, failed to track back as Rogello Funis Mori scored from a loose ball after Alisson Becker had parried away the initial effort from Jesus Gallardo in the 14th minute.
The Mexicans continued to look for space behind the makeshift Liverpool backline, revelling at the space offered by the absence of Virgil van Djik, who didn’t travel to the ground because of illness. Alisson had to step in to iron out the deficiencies of his defence with some acrobatic saves to keep Monterrey’s long-range efforts at bay.
With regulation time coming to close, it was Salah again, who found a final burst of energy to chase and control the ball near the backline, holding off the challenges of two defenders.
He laid it for an onrushing Trent Alexander-Arnold, who put the ball inside the box for substitute Firmino to score and secure a passage to the final.
