Jurgen Klopp paid tribute to Allan McGregor after the Rangers goalkeeper rolled the back the years during Tuesday’s Champions League group-stage defeat at Anfield, speaking to the Reds website.
In the end, a 2-0 scoreline didn’t really reflect the gulf in class between the two teams from either side of Hadrien’s Wall. A veritable chasm between two of Britain’s most historic footballing institutions.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s curling free-kick and a Mo Salah penalty maintained Rangers’ goalless, pointless return to Europe’s biggest table. But it could have been a damn sight worse; 40-year-old McGregor making eight saves on the night while performing with the agility of a man half his age.
“Good game. Actually, the game we wanted to play,” Klopp said at full-time; his new-look four-man frontline carving apart the visiting defence like a plump Thanksgiving turkey.
“Offensively, (we) created an awful lot without using (the chances). Rangers’ goalie made a couple of really nice saves. But I liked it a lot.”
Allan McGregor shines in Rangers’ 2-0 Liverpool defeat
McGregor denied a turbo-charged Darwin Nunez on countless occasions. He also used every inch of his 6ft frame to tip a trademark Mo Salah shot around the post.
The former Scotland international turns 41 in January. But there is clearly a whole lot of life left in this old dog.
“Maybe it was a perfect game for Liverpool tonight,” adds former Anfield playmaker Adam Lallana, speaking to BBC Radio 5Live. “After a few (results) that didn’t go their way.
“It would have been five or six for Liverpool had it not been for Allan McGregor. I thought he was incredible tonight.”
McGregor only returned to Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s starting XI a couple of weeks ago; parachuted back into the starting XI after some high-profile Jon McLaughlin errors in the humiliating 4-0 Old Firm thumping at Celtic.
Rangers now have no choice but to bounce back and claim a famous win over Liverpool at Ibrox next week if they are to keep their hopes of a top-three finish in Group A alive. They currently have no points and no goals from three games in the competition.
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