Despite injuries creating an issue for Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool won confidently on Wednesday night with a slightly altered XI captained by Virgil van Dijk.
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| Image via The Independent |
The Reds took a while to build into the game but got off the mark at 20 minutes thanks to a lovely strike from Bobby Firmino. The forward was set up by the brilliant Andy Robertson.
Salah found Liverpool a second right on the stroke of half-time and it was great to see him find the net again after scoring against Huddersfield. Some consistency for Mo will do wonders for his confidence and continued goal scoring.
A few minutes into the second half Sadio Mane won a penalty. Some would argue it was a soft one but he was impeded in continuing his run for the ball so for me, it was a fair decision. Mo Salah stepped up to convert the spot kick making it his 50th goal in 65 games for Liverpool, absolutely phenomenal.
Red Star didn't trouble Alisson at all and while a side like Liverpool should always be beating this calibre of opposition I did expect a little bit more from the Serbian side.
At 80 minutes Mane made up for watching Liverpool's second spot-kick of the night be saved. A shot into the bottom corner was enough to seal the 4-0 victory for the Reds. Job done.
Players who I think deserve a mention away from the goal scorers include the tenacious Shaqiri who I think definitely deserves more game time and also Fabinho.
For the first ten minutes or so and after a very risky tackle that could have seen him receive a yellow, I was a little bit concerned but Fabinho settled into the game very well and I thought, on the whole, was quite impressive. You have to take into account that this was perhaps an easier game for a midfielder but I can't wait to see him feature more in the starting XI.
Next up for the Reds is Cardiff.