ibe earns liverpool three points at rubin published: thursday 5 november 2015, 21.01cet rubin 0-1 liverpool the 19-year-old jordon ibe's first reds goal ended a run of three straight group b draws for jürgen klopp's new side. by richard van poortvliet from kazan arena
tidy jordon ibe finish gives liverpool first group b win; 19-year-old's first reds goal dominant reds' maiden european victory under new coach jürgen klopp subdued rubin had won all three previous home games against english opponents rubin goalkeeper sergei ryzhikov spares his side a more substantial defeat next games: rubin v sion, liverpool v bordeaux (26 november)
liverpool's uefa europa league group b has some momentum at last following a 1-0 victory against rubin kazan on a chilly night in the capital of tatarstan.
the scoreline did not reflect the visitors' dominance. liverpool were frustrated for long periods, but an excellently-taken goal from jordon ibe early in the second half proved to be the difference between the two teams.
jürgen klopp's side started well with james milner seeing his sixth minute shot skim off the top of the crossbar, with sergei ryzhikov well beaten. liverpool utterly dominated possession, creating a dozen opportunities to the hosts solitary first-half effort. the problem for the reds was that none of theirs were on target.
indeed, the closest liverpool came in the first 45 minutes was when rubin defender solomon kverkvelia drew a fantastic save from ryzhikov with a misplaced headed clearance.
liverpool started the second half as they had finished the first – in complete control – and finally made the breakthrough on 52 minutes, the impressive ibe strinding towards goal unchallenged before striking a firm right-footed shot from just outside the penalty area, which kissed the post on its way into the net.
moments later, milner's shot was tipped over the bar by ryzhikov, and the 35-year-old goalkeeper did well to deny dejan lovren just before the hour mark, getting down well to keep out a powerful header. rubin failed to muster a shot on target all game, and but for ryzhikov, liverpool would have been out of sight long before the final whistle.
