Liverpool have been held to a 1-1 draw against 10-man Rubin Kazan in Thursday night's Europa League Group B clash at Anfield.
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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.
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Jurgen Klopp's charges raced out of the starting blocks after the restart as Origi headed wide from a corner moments before Can saw a vicious shot charged down, but soon plateaued as the action dwindled.
On the hour Coutinho was again involved when he found some space inside the box to fashion a strike, but the shot was blocked by a well-timed slide tackle.
Christian Benteke's substitution in the 63rd minute proved inspired as the former Aston Villa striker weighed in with a number of increasingly dangerous chances, including a strike that rattled the post in the 80th minute.
Nevertheless the Russian visitors were able to hold out until the final whistle, securing a share of the spoils in the process.
Giuseppe Labellarte
