Arne Slot secured his first home Champions League victory following Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Bologna at Anfield on Wednesday evening.
Since taking over for Jurgen Klopp, Slot has had an incredible start to his leadership. The Dutchman also achieved another significant milestone when Liverpool won the Champions League for the second time in a row.
At Anfield, Alexis Mac Allister gave Liverpool the lead in the first half, and in the closing moments, Mohamed Salah scored his 49th goal in the Champions League.
Six games into the season, and already leading the Premier League, the modest Slot has skilfully made sure that Liverpool hasn’t lost a beat after the conclusion of Klopp’s glorious reign.
When they took over as Reds managers, even Klopp, Kenny Dalglish, Bill Shankly, and Bob Paisley couldn’t manufacture as many victories.
With a 3-1 victory over AC Milan to start their European campaign, Liverpool showed confidence once again on Slot’s first Champions League evening at Anfield.
A “special night” was what Slot, who led Feyenoord in the Champions League, had hoped to create, and the historic victory certainly lived up to that expectation.
In addition to leading Liverpool to the 2018 and 2022 finals, Klopp guided the team to the Champions League title in 2019 and created many unforgettable memories along the way.
The six-time European champions are already dreaming of another incredible Champions League season because to Slot’s surefire start.
Bologna, which qualified for the Champions League unexpectedly after a 60-year break, gave it their all in the competition but was unable to pull off a stunning upset.
Liverpool took the lead in the eleventh minute after seizing the initiative fast.
This week, Mac Allister had expressed how much he liked having more freedom under Slot’s methods than he had under Klopp’s more rigid approach.
And when he initiated the move that resulted in Liverpool’s first goal and finished it with a precisely timed run into the Bologna area to meet Salah’s cross with a close-range effort, the Argentine further emphasised the point.
A cause of laughter at the club’s training facility due to his low ‘pace’ rating in the new EA FC video game, Mac Allister’s boisterous midfield surge also acted as a rebuke to his teammates.
Dominik Szoboszlai had a chance to extend Liverpool’s lead after Salah’s cross, but he missed.
Darwin Nunez, who returned to the Liverpool starting lineup after missing the team’s victory against Wolves last weekend due to sickness, bore down on the Bologna goalie but was unable to find the accuracy to beat Lukasz Skorupski.
Liverpool’s lead was abruptly lost when Bologna woke up and made a surprise equaliser threat.
A teammate of Riccardo Orsolini’s blocked his goal-bound header, and Dan Ndoye’s powerful effort struck the wall.
Kacper Urbanski’s goal, capitalising on a mistake made by Trent Alexander-Arnold, a defender for Liverpool, required a superb save from Alisson Becker.
Early in the second half, Alisson had to rush across to block a free-kick from Orsolini.
However, Liverpool started to retake the lead, as Salah missed a curling shot from the edge of the area.
In the 75th minute, Salah scored his sixth goal of the season to provide the game-winning blow.
He in from the right flank, easily slipped past Juan Miranda, and from eighteen yards, curled a fantastic effort into the far corner.
