Liverpool made it two wins from two in the Champions League as they secured a hard-fought victory over Bologna at Anfield.
The Reds looked like they could cruise to victory when Alexis Mac Allister capped a dominant start by scoring with 11 minutes remaining.
However, a dogged Bologna made things difficult from there, with Mohamed Salah only to seal victory with a brilliant 75th-minute goal.
How the game developed
Having started a bit slowly last time out at Wolves, Liverpool looked much clearer from here on, with Ryan Gravenberch’s ball across the box almost deflected by Dominik Szoboszlai and Luis Diaz moments after the kick-off .
And the Reds had their first goal after just 11 minutes, Mac Allister tucking away an unmissable Salah cross inside the six-yard box.
The hosts almost quickly doubled their lead when Darwin Nunez saw a goal ruled out for offside before Szoboszlai curled an effort over the bar after a fine build-up.
But the dominant nature of their start seemed to lead to complacency, allowing Bologna to settle as the first half wore on.
To that end, they hit the woodwork twice in quick succession, Dan Nodye hitting the crossbar and then the post as Liverpool struggled to clear their lines.
A Trent Alexander-Arnold draw led to Kacper Urbanski forcing Alisson Becker into a smart save before Arne Slot’s side began to reassert themselves just before the break.
Unfortunately for Liverpool, the break seemed to give Bologna more energy, and they came close to equalizing when Riccardo Orsolini struck Alisson with a shot from the left of the box shortly after the restart.
But for all the trouble the Reds had overcoming a man-to-man press, they were still giving up very few high-quality chances and needed just one of their own to seal the result.
In the end, that came down to Salah, who used Alexander-Arnold’s overlapping run as a springboard to run into the center of the box before smashing a lovely curler home.
From there, Liverpool had little trouble securing a deserved victory.
GK: Alisson Becker – 7/10 – He made a series of smart saves and important claims to keep Bologna at bay during their best moments.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 6/10 – Stuck in a nice battle with Dan Ndoye that probably ended with the honors.
CB: Ibrahima Konata – 7/10 – Always there to win an aerial duel or get a block and played a big part in preventing Bologna from turning their best moments into anything truly dangerous.
CB: Virgil van Dijk – 7/10 – He never looked uncomfortable when Bologna dared to try to threaten on his side of the pitch.
LB: Andy Robertson – 5/10 – He didn’t always find it easy defensively, but he was up and down the left flank all night providing an option.
CM: Ryan Gravenberch – 7/10 – He won his battles in midfield and produced some outrageous turns under pressure as part of a now routine excellent performance.
CM: Alexis MacAllister – 7/10 – He could barely miss his goal chance, but he impressed in other ways, consistently disposing of possession and then calmly using it.
RM: Mohamed Salah – 8/10 – He provided a fine assist for Mac Allister’s opener and was Liverpool’s most effective creator for the rest of the game. He finished it off with an impressive goal.
AM: Dominik Szoboszlai – 7/10 – He’s been criticized a lot lately, but he was excellent here. He combined his usual relentlessness off the ball with some lovely touches.
LM: Luis Diaz – 6/10 – He wasn’t the best in terms of scoring, but he dragged his team up the pitch consistently with his dribbling while working his socks off defensively.
ST: Darwin Nunez – 4/10 – He was unable to provide Liverpool with the ball they needed when he struggled with Bologna’s man-to-man press and was extremely capricious with his passing.
Substitutes
SUB: Diogo Jota (61 for Núñez) – 7/10
SUB: Kostas Tsimikas (72 for Robertson) – 6/10
SUB: Cody Steel (72 for Diaz) – 6/10
SUB: Conor Bradley (85 for Alexander-Arnold)
SUB: Curtis Jones (85 for Szoboszlai)
Subs not used: Kelleher, Jaros, Endo, Gomez, Quansah, Nyoni, Morton.
manager
Arne Slot – 7/10 – We’ll see if their lack of rotation here hurts Liverpool when they go to Crystal Palace on Saturday, but there’s no arguing that Liverpool got the job done.
