Liverpool Beat Bayer Leverkusen: Liverpool have registered their 4th consecutive win in UEFA Champions League 2024/25 season, as Luis Diaz scored a sensational hat-trick in 4-0 rout of Bayer Leverkusen.
Xabi Alonso endured a forgettable homecoming at Anfield, as Bayer Leverkusen recorded their first UEFA Champions League defeat of the season, and are now 11th in the table with 2 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss in their 4 matches played so far.
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After a goalless first-half that saw Bayer Leverkusen dominate the hosts, things were not looking good Arne Slot's men as the visitors had a goal chalked-off because of a handball from Jeremie Frimpong.
After the completion of one hour, a completely different Liverpool turned up, as the floodgates of goals were opened by the side. Luis Diaz grabbed the first goal of the night, as Curtis Jones laid-in an inch-perfect through-ball, which was met by the Colombian, who delivered an even more beautiful finish by taking a sublime first touch and chipping the ball over Lukas Hradecky into the back of the net.
Mohammad Salah did not find the back of the net, but managed to provide assist for 2nd and 3rd goal, and the memorable night at Anfield was capped off by Luis Diaz, who secured his hat-trick with his third goal in the 92nd minute to seal all the three points.
Arne Slot Emphasies On Calmness; Says 'One Game At A Time...'
The Liverpool manager is enjoying a dream start to the 2024/25, as the side are on top of the Premier League table, and now the UEFA Champions League table as well. Arne Slot
"I don't know if it was that much to do with intensity, but we took more risk. They overloaded the midfield a lot, and we adjusted at half-time and took the risk to play one v one all over. We had better chances in the first half and they weren't a goal threat. As much as this time, how good they are in Europe, sometimes a strong target man is better than someone a bit faster," said Arne Slot in the post-match interview.
"Curtis Jones did an incredible pass, and then you have someone with the pace of Lucho to finish it off. The pass was as good as the goal, in my opinion. You don't look ahead as a manager in the next three months. You're always one game at a time. We've got Aston Villa on Saturday, another tough game," he added.