Liverpool 2 Bologna 0: More records for Salah as Slot's side extend their perfect start to the Champions League

Liverpool picked up their second of two wins in this year's Champions League, beating Bologna 2-0 in an entertaining game at Anfield.

Arne Slot had demanded of his players after Liverpool's absence last season that they “show the competition what they've been missing out on” and they played as if they had that instruction in mind in a deft opening half hour Alexis Mac Allister also scored a well-made goal to make it 1-0. But Bologna got better and better into the game as the first half progressed and hit the woodwork twice in front of the Kop.

Mohamed Salah – creator of the opener – made it 2-0 with a wonderful finish in the second half, a result that means Slot becomes the first Liverpool manager to record eight wins in his first nine games in charge.

Gregg Evans and James Horncastle analyze the game's talking points.

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Not a perfect performance, but another win for Slot

Should Liverpool be happy with that? Well, it's another win and it adds to a good start of eight wins in their first nine games in all competitions. But it didn't go as smoothly and smoothly as Slot had hoped.

Ahead of the game, Slot said he wanted his players to show hunger in their return to the Champions League, which they missed out on last season.

This message was repeated from the touchline in the early stages as he urged his midfielders to increase the tempo. After scoring the opening goal, Liverpool began to make their presence felt and responded well. It looked like it was only a matter of time before more goals followed, but midway through the first half they were pegged back by Bologna's bold attack. The visitors pushed and pushed high and this led to the defense making bad passes, particularly through Alisson and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Crucially, Liverpool survived and, despite the late changes, the second half was a different story.

Through relentless finishing and persistent hard work off the ball, Liverpool have once again got the job done and while this result or performance won't define the season, the early signs continue to be positive for a group that is steadily becoming a winning machine.

Greg Evans

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Salah: Still setting records

Even at the ripe old age of 32, Salah still shows no signs of slowing down.

It was a brilliant start to another season for the Egyptian, highlighted by his crucial goal contributions in these first few months of the season.

By setting up Mac Allister superbly for Liverpool's early opener, he became the fastest player to score five goals and five assists in a season for Liverpool in 35 years – the last player to do so after nine games was John Barnes in the Season 1989/90 season.

Salah's creativity has helped Liverpool get off to a good start under Slot and he looks refreshed on the right wing. He bounced back brilliantly in last weekend's Premier League win at Wolverhampton Wanderers, becoming a surprisingly useful defender in the closing stages after scoring the game-winning penalty.

Tonight, however, was all about his qualities in the final third – something he demonstrated even more clearly in the second half when he made the final score 2-0 with a wonderful bending finish, a goal that means He becomes the first Liverpool player ever to score in five consecutive Champions League/European Cup games at Anfield.

These records keep coming.

Greg Evans

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Another missed opportunity for Nunez?

That's three starts in the last four games in all competitions for Darwin Nunez, but his goal tally simply isn't high enough to convince Slot to use him more often.

Yes, his holdup game was impressive at times. The Uruguayan showed strength, control and skill to play an important role in the opening goal, but again his name was not on the scoresheet.

However, when Nunez was in the perfect position to run towards the goal and use his speed to break away from the Bologna defensive line, he missed his run and was caught offside. This was the big chance to miss and with the right move he would have increased his tally for the season; just a single goal in a 3-0 win against Bournemouth.

This was a missed opportunity. Nunez had good serves from his teammates and three shots on goal, but only one hit the target. Inevitably he was the first player to be substituted at the start of the second half when Slot wanted a change in the forward positions, and if Diogo Jota stays fit he will continue to play in the big games, with Nunez restricted to a supporting role.

Greg Evans

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Bologna shows that they belong on this stage

Vincenzo Italiano has been labeled a high-ranking fundamentalist on the Internet. His teams often dominate. They excel at high-intensity pressing and field sloping and are excellent at winning the ball back in dangerous areas. But when they miss opportunities, they are usually great opportunities.

Now it's one thing to execute that style well en route to back-to-back Conference League finals, as was the case with Fiorentina. It's a completely different thing to make it to Anfield in the Champions League.

Italiano showed his willingness to compromise against Liverpool and still remained true to himself. He did not, as Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers appeared to do on Tuesday night in Dortmund, insist on going all out with his style. Bologna played a middle and deep block at times. They let goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski shoot the ball long and weren't afraid to let center back Sam Beukema shoot the ball backwards for the strikers to chase down. Nevertheless, Bologna chose their moments of pressure and did so quite well. They ended the first half trailing 0-1, but in good faith; grows in self-confidence.

Italiano left his full-backs and fastest center-back Jhon Lucumi one-on-one against Liverpool's front three. He pushed Lucumi's partner Beukema towards Dominik Szoboszlai and left Remo Freuler after Ryan Gravenberch. Liverpool's frantic goal kicks and build-up play almost paid off for them when the lively Dan Ndoye hit the crossbar twice after dangerous reverses. Alisson also did brilliantly to fire a well-struck shot from Kacper Urbanski wide of the goal after another free kick forced by Ndoye.

This time last year, Bologna were only dreaming of qualifying for the Conference League. But the flashes they showed at Anfield suggested they wouldn't be out of place in the Champions League either.

James Horncastle

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What did Slot say?

Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, the Liverpool manager admitted it wasn't a pleasant evening for his team. “In my opinion it was not an easy win, Bologna made it difficult. They covered the pitch everywhere and we had to wait for the right moment because when you play through it it's completely open, and often it was open, but the final pass could have been better.

“We worked really hard today to keep a clean sheet, but we needed our goalkeeper a few times.”

Slot also thanked his players and staff for helping him to his eighth win in nine games. “It's almost impossible to do anything special at this club. It says a lot about how much the players want it, how much effort they put in and how the staff helped me get to this start.

“There are even more difficult games to come, starting with kick-off at 12.30pm on Saturday after a Champions League game. But it's nice to start like this. That is clear.”

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What's next for Liverpool?

Saturday, October 5th: Crystal Palace (away), Premier League, 12:30pm UK, 7:30am ET

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(Top photo: Getty Images)