Jurgen Klopp's first Liverpool game at Anfield has begun brightly, with the Reds holding Rubin Kazan to a 1-1 half-time draw in their Europa League Group B clash.
The hosts were quickest off the starting blocks as Emre Can spotted a gap between two defenders in the ninth minute and let rip with a vicious shot that whistled just beyond the upright and into the side-netting.
Against the run of play, however, Kazan took the lead on the quarter-hour mark, Marko Devic controlling an accurate cross from Oleg Kuzmin deep inside the box and firing into the top-right corner of the Reds net.
Liverpool set about trying to force an equaliser as Adam Lallana, Divock Origi and Philippe Coutinho all weighed in with dangerous chances, though Simon Mignolet had to be alert when Blagov Georgiev lashed a dangerous effort towards their goal.
The tide turned in favour of the home side when Kuzmin was sent off for a second bookable offence, and from Coutinho's resulting free kick, the unmarked Can slotted home.
Giuseppe Labellarte
