Dirty TackleMario Balotelli scores first Liverpool goal in testy Champions League win
Bulgarian club Ludogorets Razgrad qualified for the Champions League group stage for the first time thanks to defender Cosmin Moti stepping in as goalkeeper and saving not one, but two shots in a penalty shootout. For 81 minutes they held Liverpool scoreless at Anfield. But then Mario Balotelli happened.
Demonstrating superb ball control while clearing space for himself between two defenders in the box, Balotelli scored his first Liverpool goal with an 82nd-minute volley that seemed as if it would be enough to start their Champions League campaign with three points.
Ludogorets again demonstrated their taste for the improbable by scoring an equalizer in the first minute of injury time, though. Taking a point at Anfield would have been incredible for the Bulgarian champions, who reached the Europa League round of 16 last season, but a foul by newly signed third-choice goalkeeper Milan Borjan in the second minute of injury time set up a penalty that Steven Gerrard didn't miss.
Liverpool escaped their first Champions League match in five years with a 2-1 win, yet improvement is necessary if they are going to fulfill Gerrard's target of making it further than the round of 16.
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is the editor of Dirty Tackle on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him or follow on Twitter! Follow @BrooksDT
