Salah Seals the Deal in Liverpool’s Win Over Bologna – Postmortem

This was a game that had a first half jitter, yet the overall control on a European night was both controlled and confident. The win was what mattered; however, the manner and character of the players was superb.

Arne Slot becomes the first manager in Liverpool’s history to win 8 out of his first 9 games. pic.twitter.com/siTP0lzswA

— Watch LFC (@Watch_LFC) October 2, 2024

Below is how the team lined up, with match details following.

Starting Eleven

GK – Alisson Becker

RB – Trent Alexander Arnold

RCB – Ibrahima Konaté

LCB – Virgil van Dijk (c)

LB – Andy Robertson

CM – Alexis Mac Allister

ACM – Dominik Szoboszlai

CM – Ryan Gravenberch

RF – Mohamed Salah

CF – Darwin Núñez

LF – Luis Díaz

https://twitter.com/anfieldindex/status/1841588840986739098?s=46&t=rxgukmqdoXc4muVFLSx2EQ

Subs

Diogo Jota – Darwin Núñez (60 mins)

Cody Gakpo – Luis Díaz (72 mins)

Kostas Tsimikas – Andy Robertson (71 mins)

Curtis Jones – Dominik Szoboszlai (85 mins)

Conor Bradley – Trent Alexander Arnold (85 mins)

Goals (Assisted by)

Liverpool 1 – 0 Bologna

Alexis Mac Allister (Mohamed Salah) – 11 mins

Liverpool 2 – 0 Bologna

Mohamed Salah (Dominik Szoboszlai) – 75 mins

Important Match Stats

Possession

Liverpool 52% – 48% Bologna

Total Shots

Liverpool 9 – 12 Bologna

Crosses

Liverpool 14 – 15 Bologna

Corner Kicks 

Liverpool 5 – 3 Bologna

Goalkeeper Saves

Liverpool 2 – 2 Bologna

First Half

The opening period of this game was nearly a disappointing one, until an early Bologna goal was chalked off for offside by VAR. Mere moments later, the Egyptian King, Mohamed Salah, flighted a beautiful cross to the back post, where the progressive Alexis Mac Allister was waiting to score from close range.

That goal came after some superb ball carrying by the eventual scorer, as he took control of the contest from the outset. Darwin Núñez was unlucky not to double the reds lead minutes later, as his well taken strike was ruled offside by VAR also. Dominik Szoboszlai was unfortunate with a side footed effort just moments later, as his shot slid just past the far post.

Despite Liverpool looking like the team most likely to grab the contests second goal, it was in fact Bologna who pushed through and created more opportunities of note. Some important saves were made by the brilliant Brazilians Alisson Becker, who alongside his towering central defenders, was able to avert the much-sought equalizer.

The back end of that first period saw both Ryan Gravenberch, and Dominik Szoboszlai, emerge as powerful middle ground entities, who stopped the vibrant Bologna men from continuing to advance. A wonderful give and go between Trent Alexander Arnold and Luis Díaz, nearly brought about a wonderfully well work goal.

The half ended and the scoreline was reflective of the general game state.

Second Half

On resumption of the second half, no changes were made as the Liverpool Head Coach sent out the same eleven men, which had nearly taken the game away from Bologna in the opening 45-minutes. With some good work from the middle ground engine room, more control was allowed through the second period.

Some vibrant work by Luis Díaz was without end product, whereas the resurgent Ryan Gravenberch was key in relieving pressure when called upon. Alexis Mac Allister had been tremendous throughout, whilst the Hungarian skipper, Dominik Szoboszlai, was the powerful and tenacious runner who ensured a comeback was not possible.

It would be the record-breaking goal scorer, Mohamed Salah, who lit up the second half with a wonderful top corner strike. Earlier in the second half, the 32-year-old had slid a curling effort around the outside of the post, however, a second man run by Trent Alexander Arnold, allowed the no.11 to cut inside and thunder his next strike into the far corner. Opportunities came and went from there, as more game management was called for amongst a flurry of substitutions.

The game petered out and the result was assured and deserved in equal measure.

Post Match Verdict

Arne Slot is the real deal and a trip to Crystal Palace is up next.

The excitement is real and so is the atmosphere, as the reds carry through their early season momentum.

Steven Smith’s Pre-match Prediction:

Liverpool 2 – 0 Bologna