An emphatic second-half performance saw Liverpool come from behind to win 7-1 on Wednesday against Rangers in the Champions League at Ibrox Stadium.
Jurgen Klopp found his side 1-0 down early on when Scott Arfield guided a ball past Alisson from outside of the box, but Roberto Firmino led a quick response from Liverpool equalise with an accurate header from a corner.
An even first half saw little else created by way of chances, but Rangers had the best one when Fashion Sakala flashed past Kostas Tsimikas before cutting the ball across the goal, only for Ibrahima Konate to deny Arfield from securing his brace.
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Liverpool looked to have much more control in the second half as they stemmed the flow of attacks from the opposition, and the Premier League side got themselves into the lead when Joe Gomez linked up with Harvey Elliott before delivering a precise low cross into the path of Firmino, who made no mistake with the finish.
The Reds maintained their pressure after getting in front and found a third as Darwin Nunez finished well from Firmino’s flick, and they were soon out of sight after Mohamed Salah was introduced. The right-winger scored three times in six minutes after missing his first chance, with Harvey Elliott scoring the first Champions League goal of his career for Liverpool’s seventh.
Positives
An excellent second half performance saw Liverpool restore their lethal edge. What turned into a dominant performance netted a positive result in spite of injury problems ahead of the trip to Manchester City on Sunday.
Negatives
The Reds were slow to start the game with a poor second half where they continued their recent trend of conceding the first goal.
Manager rating (out of 10 with 10 = best)
Jurgen Klopp, 8 — Klopp had a number of injury problems coming into this one and managed to deploy a system that suited his line up. His substitutions were timed well to ensure a comfortable victory in the end.
Player ratings (players introduced after 70 minutes = no rating)
GK Alisson, 6 — There wasn’t much to do for Alisson outside of the goal he conceded as Liverpool’s defence prevented Rangers from getting any further dangerous efforts on target. Reacted quick to Konate’s block that stopped a cross reaching its intended target in the second half.
DF Konstantinos Tsimikas, 6 — A strong delivery saw Tsimikas register an assist for Firmino’s equaliser, but the Greece international could have been better with some of his defending in isolated situations on the night.
DF Virgil van Dijk, 7 –– He took some time to get into his best gear but looked comfortable once he did, anticipating danger quickly and showing calmness under pressure in possession.
