Liverpool ran out 4-0 winners over Red Star Belgrade in a terrific performance at Anfield. The margin of victory could have been greater had we not missed a number of chances.
Nevertheless, Liverpool looked back to their best, even if we weren’t playing the toughest side in the world.
Our attacking trio of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah all scored. The win put us to the top of our group after three games.
There were a number of talking points from the game, and is our top five:
1) Another commanding display at the back
Liverpool are a tight ship now and it feels great we aren’t conceding sloppy goals. Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez were fantastic at the back and ensured Alisson kept another clean sheet.
The keeper was barely troubled throughout the night, and it is tough to remember if he had to make a single save too.
The partnership between Van Dijk and Gomez is blossoming, and will only get better with more games this season.
2) Fabinho and Shaqiri sparkle
This was the game where we saw the quality of two of our summer signings. Xherdan Shaqiri continued his form from the win over Huddersfield.
The Swiss star helped in the first goal and created the second. Shaqiri gives us a different dimension in attack and is a great option to have when needing to change things.
Fabinho looked a little off the pace initially but slowly grew into the game. The Brazilian seemed to do everything needed from a world-class defensive midfielder, and he has an eye for a pass too.
The Brazilian was excellent in the win and this is great news for the rest of the season.
3) Mo Salah is back on track
Salah scored a brace in this game and looked really sharp. The Egyptian hasn’t been in free-scoring form but this will do nicely for now.
The former AS Roma man has three goals from his last two games. It will be tough for him to match the 44 from last season, however, more goals will come if he keeps putting in the effort.
4) Plenty of decision making for Klopp
Adam Lallana, Fabinho, Daniel Sturridge and Xherdan Shaqiri have all impressed in the last two games. This gives Klopp a bit of a problem as he has to pick the right team for the upcoming games.
After a long time the Reds have quality options for almost every position.
Klopp has to be careful not to lose our steam. However, the German is the right man at the helm of the club and should get the best out of our stars.
5) Liverpool ride their luck
Liverpool were handed a couple of penalties which could have gone either way. Sadio Mane went down when an arm touched his face while we got one for handball.
The Mane one was debatable, but we haven’t been all that lucky over the years. The Reds also were a bit lucky in our 0-0 draw against Manchester City.
Dejan Lovren could have given away a penalty early on and Riyad Mahrez skied his chance from the spot.
We have been lucky and hopefully, it continues this way for a long time.
