The Champions League maintained the same tempo on Wednesday as more actions happened. Jurgen Klopp admitted that the game against Red Bull Salzburg taught them an important lesson.
The Reds were 3-0 up after Sadio Mane, Andy Robertson and Mohammed Salah scored. Hee-chan Hwang ulled one back to make it 3-1 before the break. Two quick goals thereafter made it 3-3 courtesy of Takumi Minamino and Erling Braut Haaland. Salah had to make it a brace to ensure Liverpool won at home, after losing to Napoli in the opening round of games.
Klopp said the team played brilliant football in the first 30 minutes of the game, netting three times aside losing the opportunity to add more. The German praised the heart of the opponents to have taken more risk in the middle. Their counter attacks yielded fruits as they were clinical upfront, with Virgil van Dijk being disgraced. This opened conversations about Joel Matip being unarguably Liverpool’s best defender this season so far.
At the end the win was all that mattered for Liverpool. They have back to back games against Genk later this month and victories would settle their nerves. Genk and Napoli played a goalless game. So the Italians lead Group E but Salzburg and Liverpool are only a point away.
After Inter Milan led 1-0 in the first half, Luiz Suarez – who used to have issues netting in Europe at some point in his Barcelona career – produced a double to ensure they had maximum points at home.
Lautaro Martinez opened for the Antonio Conte led side as early as the second minute, prompting a response from the hosts. German side Borussia Dortmund defeated Slavia Prague 2-0 courtesy of a brace from Achraf Hakimi. The results means Barca and Dortmund lead Group F, with a showdown between Inter Milan and Dortmund a possible tipping point.
In Group G, Zenit defeated Benfica 3-1 while Lyon got a surprise victory at Leipzig. This means Zenit and Lyon are on 4 points apiece, while RB Leipzig have garnered only three, with the Portuguese side yet to claim any so far.
In Group H, Tammy Abraham and Willan scored for Chelsea but Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen also netted, ending the affair 2-1. Ajax continue their spotless run with a 3-0 wipe-out against Valencia. Hakim Ziyech was brilliant in the encounter, continuing off where he stopped last term.