Liverpool prove that stacking wins is hard work

Salah & Mac Allister help Arne Slot make it two wins from two in the Champions League with a win that was anything but routine

It’s a popular debate in football: “Just how comfortable is a 2-0 scoreline?”. On a bitterly cold October night, Liverpool further muddied those waters, producing a disjointed display that bore little resemblance to the straightforward wins against Ipswich and Brentford that opened the Arne Slot era. Alexis Mac Allister and Mohamed Salah scored in each half, while Bologna will wonder how they didn’t manage any.

The answer was the peerless Alisson Becker, with a collection of outstanding saves as the fifth clean sheet of the season was undoubtedly the hardest to earn. The maximum six points earned from their Champions League campaign will ultimately trump any complaints of a win much more difficult than expected, especially in the wake of shock defeats for Bayern Munich & Real Madrid. Despite two years away from Europe’s top table, the muscle memory needed to navigate tricky European encounters has remained.

The Anfield crowd arrived keen to make themselves part of the spectacle - they heard the call from the manager to feel the hurt and hunger generated by a year in the Europa League, and responded with interest. Bologna fans played their part, determined to enjoy their first European outing in 60 years. The result was a feverish soup of an atmosphere - the kind with the ability to inspire and intimidate in equal measure. The early exchanges showed two teams falling either side of that line.

It took 90 seconds for Liverpool to create a great opening. Ryan Gravenberch breached the Bologna midfield for the first but certainly not the last time, laying off to Salah at the perfect moment, who repaid the compliment. The ball eluded Darwin Nunez and Bologna fumbled it to safety. That was the catalyst for a swarm of red as the visitors were unable to escape their half, hemmed in by a tenacious Liverpool press. Bologna merely loaned the ball for a matter of seconds at a time. Riccardo Orsolini took a speculative shot after a rare Gravenberch error like a man who doesn’t think he’ll get many. And yet, seconds later the ball is in the Liverpool net.

The centre backs were caught square but Thijs Dallinga was too eager - the Reds reprieved by the linesman’s flag. As is often the case when Liverpool survives a scare, they snap into action. The genesis of the opener is a smart one-two between Dominic Szoboszlai & Alexis Mac Allister, great hold-up play from Nunez, and then vision to find Salah. His lofted cross from the corner of the area is delicious, with Mac Allister and Luis Diaz beating the offside line and racing each other to tap in, the Argentine emerging victorious.

One is nearly immediately two. Another beautiful ball from Salah springs Trent Alexander-Arnold onto the Italian defence. At this point, everyone in the ground knew what was coming: a perfect slide-rule ball to put Nunez through on goal. This time it was the Uruguayan who was curbed by enthusiasm, his run starting seconds too soon to waste what was a comfortable finish. A minor mistake, but exactly the kind he needs to rectify if he’s to claim a permanent home in the team.

In those dominant opening twenty minutes it’s clear that Salah arrived at Anfield determined to be the orchestrator - looking to hurt the opponents with his passing, as if stung by the justified criticism of his use of the ball at Molineux. Alisson superbly offered him another chance with a 60-yard volley into his path, but the Egyptian was unable to find the onrushing Diaz. After half an hour Bologna were finally able to take a breath, and began to pose a threat going forward. However, like many visitors to Anfield, when those attacks broke down, they were at their most vulnerable.

Inversely, their most dangerous moments came when handed the initiative by their hosts. Szoboszlai headed a testing Alisson clearance into the path of Dan Ndoye, leading to a deflected shot rattling the Brazilian’s bar.

That clang of woodwork marked the turning point, as Liverpool’s profligacy gave Bologna hope. They were unlucky that another presentable opening, from one of a mounting number of free kicks, was inadvertently cleared by a black shirt.

Anfield had barely breathed a sigh of relief before Alexander-Arnold lost the ball in a dangerous area only to be bailed out by his goalkeeper with an excellent reflex save. For the first time this season, Liverpool faced a spell where it looked like a goal against was inevitable. Composure was sorely lacking, which soon spread to the top end of the pitch. Good opportunities - the kind that Slot lamented his team passing up in the dying moments on Saturday - were once again left unconverted.

Liverpool’s midfielders took turns to drive through the lines, but all were unable to deliver the killer pass. The half ended with plenty to ponder for the Head Coach, and as the second began it was clear that tigerish retrieval of the ball would be key to placing the game under their control. Szoboszlai and Diaz were the instigators, which in turn made them cheerleaders, as every lung-bursting run to close down their man was greeted with a guttural roar.

The second half’s first significant moment was another important Alisson save, as Orsolini evaded a sleeping Alexander-Arnold from another disputed free kick. After Kacper Urbanski slashed at his own golden opportunity to make himself a Bolognese legend, Slot had seen enough.

Diogo Jota arrived from the bench to replace Nunez, whose promising start faded as he struggled to keep hold of the ball. Bologna’s confidence remained, believing they were as likely to score as Liverpool. Diaz should have proved them wrong, but he failed to pull the trigger after motoring across the edge of the area. When the Colombian saw his number raised moments later he would have known that he had made a mistake.

And then, the moment Anfield yearned for finally arrived. With 75 minutes on the clock, Jota broke through the midfield and laid it into Szoboszlai’s path, who in turn found Salah in his favourite spot - the corner of the area with a worrying defender in front of him. A shift inside as Alexander-Arnold overlapped proceeded a wonderful curled finish into the top corner - the kind that appears if you close your eyes to imagine the typical Salah goal.

Bologna heads finally dropped, and all that remained was for the supremely gifted Gravenberch to decide if he would deliver the coup de grace to another magnificent display with his first goal of the season. It’s truly a blessing to see a footballer become elite before our eyes, and the scariest part is that it’s clear that he’s not yet in full bloom.

That goal didn’t come, but his ability to make the right decisions on the ball and execute them perfectly time and again is a precious commodity, proven by Liverpool’s willingness to spend hundreds of millions of pounds to find it. In the end, they only needed thirty-eight of them. They also only needed two goals, despite creating enough chances for five or six.

Post-match, Slot once again struck the right tone - happy with the result while slightly frustrated with the performance, without reaching either extreme: “You’re always aiming for perfection, but you’ll never reach it”, he smiled. Two months into his Liverpool career only Callum Hudson-Odoi has denied the Dutchman perfection, but despite becoming the first Liverpool manager to achieve eight wins out of nine, Slot is keenly aware that there is more work to do.

While his Liverpool team keeps winning, that work will be all the more enjoyable.