Digging Deeper into Liverpool's 2-0 Win over Bologna
Yesterday at 05:55 PM
After the Reds' pick up their eighth win in nine games to start the season, we look at some of the winners and losers on the night.
Despite two brief periods during which they lost both focus and individual battles, Liverpool delivered a controlled 2-0 win at Anfield tonight, defeating a game Bologna side that came to play, but was ultimately unable to fully deal with the quality of the Reds and their Egyptian Prince.
Below, then, we give a quick word on the winners and losers on the night.
Winners
The Contract Craver: Despite misplacing half a dozen final passes that could have sent a team-mate clean through on goal, Mohamed Salah was the difference maker for the Reds once again tonight, as he became the first ever Liverpool player to score in five consecutive Champions League home games. The Egyptian set up Alexis Mac Allister's opener with a delicious chipped through ball that the Argentinian couldn't miss, and scored the coffin nail himself with a whipped curler into the top far corner as the game entered its final 15 minutes.
After nine games, the 32-year old, currently on the final year of his contract, has scored six and assisted five in all competitions, averaging a goal or assist every 68 minutes he's been on the pitch. It's frankly an unbelievable return from the club legend, and it's becoming increasingly unlikely the club won't pony up whatever signing fee and wage packet he wants before the new year comes around.
Hot Start: The hiccup at home to Nottingham Forest aside, it has been an exceptional start to the season for Liverpool, and a tremendously promising opening stanza to his tenure for Arne Slot. The Anfield outfit have scored 22 goals while conceding only four in their opening nine games across all competitions, and have done so while establishing a play style that resembles the best Jürgen Klopp sides from 2018-22 more than the transition-obsessed iterations of the last few years.
While there are no easy games in the Premier League and Champions League, opposition hasn't been elite quite yet, and as such, there is uncertainty about how exactly the Reds will look when facing teams from Europe's top five or ten, but until a team takes a game away from them, there is no reason not to be optimistic about the prospects of the club going forward.
Losers
Set Pieces: With the exception of the two goals against an undersized AC Milan two weeks ago, and despite the world class deliveries available from the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson and Dominik Szoboszlai, Liverpool have not looked particularly dangerous off their corners and free kicks this season, and if one considers how many points those situations have delivered for the likes of Arsenal over the course of the past two and and a half years, it is worth considering whether Arne Slot should find a way to improve this part of his team's game.
At the other end, the Reds gave up two decent chances from free kicks tonight, both with delayed deliveries causing enough confusion that an opposition player was able to sneak free at the far post. For a team that dominates the ball so much, giving away opportunities on set pieces represents one of few avenues an opponent has to getting looks at the Liverpool goal, and as such, improvement on this front could prove crucial when the points are tallied up at the end of the year.
Credit to the Opposition
Bologna came to Anfield to play, and while they looked utterly overwhelmed as the Reds overran them in the opening five minutes, they settled into the match soon enough, and with a bit of fortune could have scored one or two, offering a serious threat on both set pieces and from their aggressive press.
The Italians looked to copy the Atalanta game plan that worked so well at Anfield back in April, man marking Liverpool's players across the pitch, and gambling on their defenders being able to hold their own against the hosts' illustrious frontline, and while it didn't quite pay off with a result this time, it must be considered a promising outing for the team's new manager as he hopes to build on his predecessor's success.
What Happens Next
Just one more before the October international break begins, as the Reds travel to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace on Saturday lunchtime, in a bid to go into the break still top of the Premier League table.
