On the night that Xabi Alonso made his emotional return to Anfield, Arne Slot delivered another reminder why Liverpool fans are not pining for what might have been with their erstwhile midfielder.
The Dutchman maintained his perfect Champions League record with his new club, chalking up his fourth consecutive win as a second-half Luis Diaz hat-trick, and another goal from Cody Gakpo, overwhelmed Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen.
It was not a perfect performance but another win maintains the feel-good factor around Liverpool, who will now turn their attention to stretching their lead at the top of the Premier League.
We analyse the big moments in Liverpool’s 4-0 win.
Slot’s big calls pay off
Slot’s masterstroke move to deploy Diaz as a centre-forward, rather than Darwin Nunez, reaped rich rewards.
The first half had been frustrating for Diaz, but once he had produced the moment of magic the game so desperately craved in the 61st minute, when he raced onto a pass from Curtis Jones before coolly lifting the ball over Lukas Hradecky to open the scoring, he never looked back.
Luis Diaz puts Liverpool ahead (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Jones’ part in the goal was also significant, given his starting place ahead of Dominik Szoboszlai in central midfielder, was Slot’s other big call. He stepped up in the middle to cut the flow of attacks from Leverkusen and stake his claim for a regular berth.
It felt fitting that on a night where so much attention was placed on the man in the opposite dugout that Slot should remind every Liverpool supporter just how special he is as a manager.
Granted, Diaz had only 18 touches in the first half — the second fewest on the pitch behind Gakpo — but when it mattered he was there to make the difference. His other two finishes from close range for his second and third goals were more instinctive but no less impressive.
With 14 wins from 16 games so far, everythig Slot is touching is turning to gold.
Gregg Evans
Salah’s creative masterclass
Mo Salah now has 18 goal contributions in 16 games in all competitions for Liverpool this season as he continues to take his game to a new level.
The Egyptian remains a major creative force and has become specifically potent when setting up team-mates from the right wing.
An early story of this season is his accurate crossing to the back post and tonight he added two assists with crosses towards that area, first for Gakpo and then for Diaz as the Colombian completed his hat-trick.
Allowing Salah an extra yard of space to put such teasing deliveries into the box appears to be a tactic Liverpool are working on. The clever underlapping movement of those around him in midfield and down the right side often drags opposition defenders out of position and allows Salah the freedom to cause destruction.
Liverpool’s record-breaking forward is one of only four players to have started every Premier League and Champions League game so far and he continues to show his worth.
Gregg Evans
Alonso’s tactics were right — but not enough
Facing Bayer Leverkusen was arguably Slot’s biggest test of the season. Arsenal provided a strong challenge in the league, but Liverpool were up against the latest version of Europe’s invincibles — and they frustrated Slot’s side for long periods.
Leverkusen were disciplined and aggressive out of possession, hounding Liverpool as they looked to build out from the back. When Liverpool did progress beyond the halfway line, their defensive 4-4-2 structure — which saw Alex Grimaldo step into the midfield line — was strong to block out central areas and force the ball wide to Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah.
While Alonso’s side have had a small dip in form this season, this is a side who conceded just 22 goals in the Bundesliga last campaign — a defensive record that was only bettered by Serie A champions Inter Milan across Europe’s top five leagues.
Xabi Alonso set up his team well but Leverkusen still came unstuck (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Alonso likes his team to dominate possession, and there were periods where Leverkusen were the ones stringing longer sequences together led by the metronomic Granit Xhaka. Yet somehow, just as they did last weekend against Brighton, Liverpool can blow teams away in a matter of moments.
Alonso needs little reminding of the club’s ability to score goals in quick succession on the European stage. While Leverkusen largely got their tactics right, the German side succumbed to the Anfield atmosphere. They are not the first and they will not be the last.
Mark Carey
Are Liverpool’s first halves a concern?
There hasn’t been much to complain about at Liverpool this season but if there’s one area of concern it is first-half performances.
Granted, this was only the first Champions League game of the season where Liverpool failed to score in the first half, and in the Premier League they have netted in the opening 45 minutes in seven of the 10 games so far.
But this felt like a first period where they showed Bayer Leverkusen a little too much respect. It was cagey and cautious with not enough attacking enterprise and the visitors had 58 per cent of possession.
The xG progression graph of both teams throughout the game underlines how they were evenly matched in the first half.
In some ways it was similar to the weekend performance against Brighton, although not quite as open. Bayer Leverkusen found ways through the midfield and that became an issue as Liverpool won only 39 per cent of their duels. Victor Boniface did have the ball in the net but his strike was rightly disallowed for a handball in the build-up.
What’s clear is that in recent times, Liverpool’s second-half performances have been better having fallen behind early in the last two Premier League games and struggling to find any lift-off tonight. That was the case tonight, too, with Liverpool stepping on the accelerator after the break, but it is something for Slot to ponder.
Gregg Evans
What next for Liverpool?
Saturday, November 9: Aston Villa (H), Premier League, 8pm GMT, 3pm ET
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(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
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