Simon Mignolet lamented Liverpool's poor luck in front of goal after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Rubin Kazan in the Europa League.

The Reds looked on course for victory when the visitors suffered the double blow of conceding an equaliser moments after captain Oleg Kuzmin was sent off just before half-time.

But, to their credit, Valeriy Chaly's side clung on during a one-sided second period to ensure they claimed a share of the spoils.

After the game, Mignolet reflected on the positives for the hosts, insisting the string of opportunities they fashioned after gaining the upper hand might have gone in on a different day.

"It's positive to go against 10 men but, sometimes in football, against 10 men is even harder," he told Liverpoolfc.com.

"They pulled back and then tried to play on the counter-attack and in the second half they didn't really play any football. 

"We have to accept that and put together a plan when we face that. 

"Second half we created a lot, played a lot around their box, but unfortunately we didn't manage to create that one chance that would've given us the second goal. 

"There are a lot of positives to take, a lot of chances created - when you play at home you want that. 

"And the next time I'm sure we'll score more goals than the one we got today.

"Sometimes you need that luck when the ball bounces just in front of you, a little deflection or anything. 

"Unfortunately that didn't happen today and we have to accept that."

FC Sion's 1-0 victory over Bordeaux on Thursday means Liverpool sit second behind the Swiss club in Group B with three fixtures played.

And Mignolet is confident that the Reds can still chart a course for the knockout stages with positive results in the remaining three games.

"There's still a lot to play for in the Europa League," he added.

"We're still second in the group, so we can look forward to the next game and hopefully we can get the three points there."

The Belgian shot-stopper produced a fine save from Blagoy Georgiov in the first half that prevented the visitors from extending their lead to two goals.

But when asked how pleased he was with his own performance, Mignolet replied: "That's not important.

"You want to win with the team, especially when you play at home.

"Initially you want to get the victory together with the lads and then after that you see to your own performance. 

"But that always comes second."