“We are lucky to have him” - Alisson Becker heaps praise on Liverpool teammate after Champions League win over Bologna
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker heaped praise on Mohamed Salah after he scored in their UEFA Champions League win over Bologna. The Reds beat the Italian side 2-0 at Anfield on Wednesday, October 2.
The Merseysiders opened the scoring in just the 11th minute through Alexis Mac Allister, who scored his first Champions League goal. He got on the end of a cross from Salah. The Egyptian then scored himself in the 75th minute with a neat curling shot.
Salah, who played the entire 90 minutes, completed 14/21 passes, made three key passes, and won 0/4 duels but created one big chance. After the game, Alisson spoke about the winger's ability to produce a goal contribution despite not having the best of games. He said (via Caught Offside):
“He’s a player that helps us a lot, sometimes it looks like he’s not in the game but suddenly a perfect touch, he puts the ball in the top corner. That’s his quality, his strength as well. We are lucky to have him but we always have to highlight the hard work the team had and a lot to improve but good enough to win the game.”
Salah became the first Liverpool player to score in five consecutive European matches at Anfield. He has been in excellent form this season, scoring five goals and providing four assists in eight games across competitions.
Arne Slot on his experience managing Liverpool at Anfield for first time in Europe
Arne Slot had managed Liverpool at Anfield four times across competitions this season but the clash against Bologna was his first at home in the European competition. His side secured a comfortable 2-0 win to make him the first Reds manager to win eight of their first nine games.
After the game, Slot was asked about his experience and he said (via Liverpoolfc.com):
"[It was] a good one because it was a win. It wasn’t an easy one but that’s normal if you play Champions League, there is always a lot of resistance and a lot of good teams play in the Champions League – and Bologna is one of them.
"You could also see the [other] results tonight where we saw maybe some surprising results. It was good to win, a clean sheet, some good individual performances, so positive overall."
Liverpool now have six points from their first two Champions League games, having beaten AC Milan 3-1 at San Siro in their first game. They will next face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in the Premier League on October 5 in their last game before the international break.