Liverpool‘s Mohamed Salah set up one goal before bagging his 49th in the Champions League in a 2-0 win over Italian side Bologna at Anfield on Wednesday that kept Arne Slot’s team perfect with their second win in the competition.
A rousing atmosphere greeted Slot and his players in their first game at Anfield in Europe’s top competition after a year away. Slot’s men had beaten AC Milan 3-1 away in their opener, and Liverpool did not disappoint, with Alexis Mac Allister scoring in the 11th minute, tapping in Salah’s pinpoint cross from close range.
Bologna made a game of it, however, and there was an element of relief around Anfield when Salah blasted home the winner in the 75th minute.
“[Salah] is a player that helps us a lot, sometimes it looks like he’s not in the game but suddenly a perfect touch, he puts the ball in the top corner. That’s his quality, his strength as well,” Liverpool keeper Alisson said. “We are lucky to have him.”
Mac Allister’s first goal of the season came less than two minutes after Bologna’s Thijs Dallinga slotted the ball past Alisson, but his effort was disallowed for offside.
Liverpool were denied a second goal in the 17th minute of an entertaining night when Darwin Núñez sprinted onto a pass before calmly firing home past Lukasz Skorupski, but the Uruguayan was flagged for offside.
After narrowly missing several scoring chances, Reds talisman Salah finally connected, touching the ball past Juan Miranda before curling a rocket into the top corner.
Moments before his goal, the 32-year-old Salah fired just wide, holding his head in frustration.
While Liverpool dominated much of the night, Bologna were not without their chances, recording 12 shots to Liverpool’s nine. Dan Ndoye hit the post in the first half and then seconds later Alisson was forced to dive to stop Kacper Urbanski‘s shot.
“You know very well how difficult it is, especially for guys experiencing stages like this for the first time,” Bologna manager Vincenzo Italiano said. “Once they got past the initial excitement, though, we played with courage.
“The boys are starting to adapt to these rhythms, and they put on a great performance.”
The victory propelled Liverpool to fifth in the new 36-team league phase, with the top eight teams automatically qualifying for the last-16. Bologna are 26th with a point after they opened with a 0-0 draw against Shakhtar Donetsk.
It was the eighth win in nine games across all competitions for Slot since he replaced Jurgen Klopp. They currently top the Premier League table, a point ahead of Manchester City and Arsenal.
“It is clear we are in transition, we are happy with the ideas, we are trying to get there,” Mac Allister said on his new boss. “There is room for improvement, that’s why we work very hard every day.”
Liverpool — six-times Champions League winners, most recently in 2019 — will look to maintain their perfect record when they play at RB Leipzig on Oct. 23, while Bologna visit Aston Villa on Oct. 22.
