Mohamed Salah: The Reds secured an 11th-minute lead against the debutants with Alexis Mac Allister’s inaugural goal in Europe’s premier club competition. However, the hosts encountered numerous challenges throughout the evening.
Nevertheless, Salah scored for the ninth goal in as many Champions League appearances, alleviating the tension with 15 minutes remaining.
It was the 32-year-old’s sixth goal in four appearances against the Serie A side, and it was his 49th Champions League goal in total. He is out of contract at the end of the season.
The goal established a new club record for new head coach Arne Slot, who became the first Reds manager to win eight of his first nine matches in command.
Liverpool is one of only seven teams in the 36-team competition with a perfect record; however, this was a victory that was earned through hard work. Bologna was not intimidated by their first visit to Anfield and immediately committed five players to a high press.
The hosts encountered some difficulties as a result, despite the fact that striker Thijs Dallinga had been well offside for an extended period of time prior to beating Alisson Becker.
Despite Liverpool’s early advantage, they encountered difficulty in advancing from the back, and they would have been in even more peril if it were not for Alisson and the goal frame.
However, the goal itself was a prime illustration of the approach Slot, who had encouraged his team to demonstrate to the Champions League what it had missed after spending the previous season in the Europa League, wishes to play.
Mac Allister exchanged passes with Dominik Szoboszlai from the deep and played a clever pass into Darwin Nunez on the outskirts of the D. The Uruguay international demonstrated an awareness that was lacking for the majority of the hour he was on the pitch by laying off the ball to Salah out wide.
The Egypt international sent an inswinging cross to the far post that was so deep that Mac Allister was only two yards away when he converted.
Liverpool appeared poised to dominate their opponents, which resulted in a fleeting period of flurry.
Nunez defeated goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski in a one-on-one match, but he had already advanced to intercept Trent Alexander-Arnold’s through-ball. Szoboszlai missed a Salah cut-back when he should have at least tested the goalkeeper, and Nunez fired a weak shot after successfully bringing down Ryan Gravenberch’s lofted pass.
After Szoboszlai’s misplaced header, Slot’s team lost momentum. Dan Ndoye, Bologna’s primary threat, had a shot deflect off Ibrahima Konate and strike the crossbar before hitting the outside of a post after Liverpool’s defence failed to clear a cross.
Kacper Urbanski’s intervention caused Alisson to make a save when Ndoye dispossessed Alexander-Arnold, as Liverpool continued to struggle to extract the ball from the tight squeeze their opponents were applying.
Not much changed after the interval, as Alisson, who was celebrating his 32nd birthday, saved from Riccardo Orsolini. The host’s muted response resulted in Salah curling a shot wide.
Nevertheless, the Egyptian did not commit the same error when he cut inside from Szoboszlai’s pass to fire across Skorupski.
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