Hoffenheim 1-2 Liverpool: 5 talking points

Hoffenheim unfortunate to concede second goal

Milner scored Liverpool's second of the night.

At first glance, it looked as if substitute James Milner's goal was a stroke of genius.

Replays, however, confirmed that it took a considerable deflection on the way in, as the England international's attempted cross was turned into the net.

The goal planted a seed of frustration in the German side's mind as the game began to slip away from them in the final quarter hour.

In truth, Die Kraichgauer made life very difficult for themselves at the back, and not even their fluid transition of a three-man defence to a five-man defence could provide them enough cover against the Premier League outfit who simply looked hungrier for the win on the whole.

Having finished the 2016/17 season in fourth place, it's clear that Hoffenheim are a team looking to develop and progress to new heights, but they clearly have a lot of work to do if they are to compete at the highest levels in the future.

Good, but not good enough.