Liverpool-Bordeaux Verdict: Europa League Progress Is Reds' First 2015-16 Achievement

Playing in European soccer competitions before New Year’s Day is one thing. Competing in the new calendar year is a more impressive accomplishment than mere qualification for the group stage of a continental tournament.

Liverpool has posted its first marker of achievement in the 2015-16 season by progressing out of Group B in the UEFA Europa League. Liverpool booked its place in the Round of 32 by beating Bordeaux 2-1 on Thursday at Anfield.

Liverpool can finish atop Group B and ensure itself a kinder draw in the first knockout stage if it defeats FC Sion on Dec. 10 in Switzerland. Regardless of that game’s outcome, Liverpool has ensured its Europa League adventure will extend into at least late February — a period in which there are no weaklings remaining in European competitions.

Welcome to the club.

Now we’re not shouting about Liverpool’s success from the mountaintop for the world to hear, as reaching the knockout rounds of Europe’s B tournament don’t warrant such a response. However, we must take note of what the Reds have done, especially in light of where they were on Sept. 17 when they played the same Bordeaux to a 1-1 draw in France.

Thursday’s result says Liverpool is one goal better than it was in Bordeaux two-and-a-half months ago, but the Reds’ performance improved markedly from that one.

Jurgen Klopp deserves credit for navigating the Reds out of a potential Europa League mess by breaking from predecessor Brendan Rodgers in picking strong lineups for these games. Klopp’s choices paid dividends first against Rubin Kazan, then against Bordeaux, as Liverpool was too strong and confident to lose what the German described as a “big fight” with the struggling French club.

Liverpool’s outing against Bordeaux was neither perfect nor as good as last Saturday’s win over Manchester City. Some games over the course of a marathon season are bound to play out that way — especially against unfamiliar opponents.

Bordeaux put Liverpool under pressure by scoring first, but the Reds’ leaders dragged them out of difficulty. James Milner and Christian Benteke scored decisive goals in a manner befitting longtime Anfield heroes rather than summer signings. Lucas Leiva, Nathaniel Clyne and Alberto Moreno, on whom Klopp has relied on heavily, helped steady Liverpool’s play throughout the contest.

Liverpool now will tend to domestic for the next two weeks. It welcomes Swansea to Anfield on Sunday, looking to extend its winning streak to three games in all competitions and build a run of wins at home. Hitting those marks would be another sign of progress under Klopp, and victories over Newcastle and Southampton in subsequent games would serve the same purpose.

That’s what characterizes a club-soccer season: a series of game-by-game baby steps, which equal giant leaps when you add them together over the span of weeks or months. And the sum total of those leaps represents forward progress (or lack thereof) over time in the life of an English or European soccer club.