Jurgen Klopp’s men failed to take control of the match against the French side and were unable to complete a dramatic turnaround late on.

VAR was the enemy once again for Liverpool as they suffered a shock 3-2 defeat to Toulouse in the Europa League on Thursday.

The Reds were second best for much of the game but a late fightback saw them pull level right at the end when Jarell Quansah fired into the net. But a replay review in the last minutes of stoppage time saw an Alexis Mac Allister handball in the build up and the strike was disallowed, ensuring the visitors left with nothing.

Jurgen Klopp’s team were off to a decent start, but a Kostas Tsimikas howler gifted the French side the lead and the Reds were unable to seize control afterwards. With Cody Gakpo anonymous throughout, Wataru Endo lucky to make it to half-time without being sent off and their defence looking terribly sloppy, Liverpool never really got going.

Even the half-time introductions of Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Trent Alexander-Arnold failed to get Liverpool into gear, as Toulouse emerged from the break confident and eager to go for the second, which was delivered through a quality finish from Thijs Dallinga.

Liverpool did pull a goal back thanks to a bizarre mistake from defender Cristian Casseres, who wasn’t even looking in the right direction as it struck his shoulder and went into the net. But Toulouse showed their resilience by scoring another fine goal right after.

Diogo Jota finished off a fine move to reduce the deficit once again and then Quansah lashed in a 97th minute equaliser, but it just wasn’t to be for Liverpool.

GOAL rates Liverpool’s players from Stadium Municipal…

Goalkeeper & Defence

Caoimhin Kelleher (5/10):

Couldn’t do anything for the first goal due to the deflection, was well beaten by a fine finish for the second and spilled the ball for the third after it bounced off of Alexander-Arnold.

Joe Gomez (6/10):

Had an early header hit the bar. Sluggish and clumsy early on and left far too much space behind him. Moved to the left for the second half and it was the same story until his header helped pull a bizarre goal back.

Joel Matip (6/10):

Got across to sweep up after Gomez as Toulouse targeted Liverpool’s right side. Was tidy on the ball but needed to get across quicker to block the second goal.

Jarell Quansah (5/10):

Looked solid as he stood up to challenges really well, but didn’t look good for any of Toulouse’s goals. Thought he had scored a last-minute equaliser but was undone by a VAR review.

Kostas Tsimikas (4/10):

Terrible to give the ball away that sent Toulouse on their way to the first goal. An easy target for Toulouse down the wing.

Midfield

Harvey Elliott (6/10):

Used the ball well as he attempted to kick-start attacks for the Reds.

Wataru Endo (3/10):

Made an unnecessary and overzealous tackle early on, got booked for another but was lucky to stay on after another rash foul. Full of energy but overcommitted to everything and was a danger to his own team.

Alexis Mac Allister (5/10):

Got up and down in an attempt to create something but offered little protection. Responsible for the handball that saw his side’s equaliser chalked off.

Attack

Ben Doak (5/10):

Put his dribbling ability to good use to unsettle the opponents but struggled to link up and went off at half-time.

Cody Gakpo (4/10):

Barely involved as Toulouse blocked Liverpool’s path into the centre of the final third.

Luis Diaz (6/10):

Showed some energy and had some okay moments but was hardly effective. Understandable given the recent developments regarding his father’s release.

Subs & Manager

Trent Alexander-Arnold (5/10):

On at half-time and added some strength on the right flank.

Mohamed Salah (6/10):

Came on to add the attacking spark Liverpool were missing and his presence helped for the own goal.

Dominik Szoboszlai (6/10):

Helped settle the midfield after a woeful first half.

Darwin Nunez (5/10):

Was supposed to add more of a direct threat but couldn’t get up and running.

Diogo Jota (6/10):

Scored a lovely goal to give the Reds some hope late on.

Jurgen Klopp (5/10):

A terrible performance for his team and despite the ability of his substitutes, they hardly turned the game in the Reds’ favour as expected.