Opare In Blistering Form …As Besiktas Eliminate Liverpool

Ghana defender Daniel Opare was in blistering form for Turkish side Besiktas as they beat Liverpool on penalties to knock the Reds out of the Europa League Round of 32 on Thursday night.

The Black Eagles managed to beat Liverpool at the Atatürk Olympic stadium 10 years on from the 2005 UEFA Champions League final that was played at the same venue.

Opare, who is a right-back but was made to play at the left-back position, excelled in the game as if he was not struggling for playing time at the Turkish giants.

Coach Slaven Bilic had a number of problems in defence going into the game with several injuries.

Opare only joined on loan in January and had struggled for playing time but he left most Besiktas fans wondering why he does not start more often.

The Ghanaian international caused Liverpool problems with his pace and completed five successful dribbles.

Opare also completed 81 passes at an 89 percent accuracy and linked up well with Gökhan Töre on the wing.

Bilic replaced Sosa with Tolgay Arslan and the effect was almost immediately felt.

The turning point in the game came on 72 minutes when Töre tore into the Liverpool penalty area before passing to Demba Ba who back heeled the ball to Arslan. The January signing smashed the ball into the top corner to send the crowd into delirium.

It was 1-1 on aggregate after 120 minutes of action and the game headed into penalties. After nine successful penalties Dejan Lovren stepped up and sent the ball flying over the bar.