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Liverpool moved up to the top of Group D of the Champions League with a close 2-0 win over FC Midtjylland at Anfield on Tuesday night.
After a first half mostly devoid of real scoring opportunities, and unfortunately marked by an injury to Fabinho, the Reds went ahead at the start of the second.
Diogo Jota marked the end at the end of a fluid move that involved Trent Alexander-Arnold and Xherdan Shaqiri, with the Portuguese’s third goal for the Reds also the 10,000th in club history.
Mohamed Salah’s penalty finally secured points for Jürgen Klopp’s men in injury time, with two wins out of two in the section.
The result in L4, coupled with the 2-2 draw between Atalanta BC and AFC Ajax in the rest of the group, means that Liverpool now lead it by two points.
Team news
Klopp made four changes to his starting eleven when James Milner, Takumi Minamino, Divock Origi and Shaqiri entered the side.
First half
On a very cold night at Anfield, the teams emerged to the soundtrack of the inspiring Champions League anthem, albeit sadly with no fans present to witness their first encounter.
Midtjylland created the first opportunity of the tie in the third minute, when Anders Dreyer made a nice career arc to stay on the side and pick up a cut pass from behind.
The winger carried the ball out of goal to the left as Fabinho was quick to put out the danger, but Alisson Becker was still required to make a careful save from the eventual low shot.
Liverpool’s attacks, by contrast, gave few similar chances in the first 20 minutes of play, with Minamino unable to make contact when Alexander-Arnold found his way through the opposing defense with a dangerous cross.
Then the hosts were forced to make a substitution before half an hour when Fabinho stopped with an injury and was unable to continue. Rhys Williams, 19, walked in with Joe Gomez.
Klopp’s attacks kept trying to establish some momentum: Jota fired wide when found by a corner kick and Milner saw a shot inside the blocked area, but the Danish champions remained relatively comfortable.
And half came to a standstill.
Second half
Georginio Wijnaldum replaced Jordan Henderson in midfield as the teams went back out for the second period and the Reds made their breakthrough in the 10th minute.
It came via a genuine quality pass as Alexander-Arnold moved from the right flank, completed a one-two with Shaqiri (the latter’s reverse pass married his follow-up run into the box) and clinically rolled the ball. through all six. – Patio box for Jota waiting to easily convert.
The goal was the 10,000th in Liverpool’s history.
Klopp immediately looked to seize the advantage by introducing Sadio Mane and Salah from the bench, the duo replacing Origi and Minamino on the attack.
However, the visitors soon enjoyed a period of lingering pressure and had a good chance of leveling out with a quarter of an hour left.
Substitute Evander controlled an awkward delivery in the Liverpool box and kept his balance as he shifted to shooting position, but his effort to the lower left corner was off target.
Roberto Firmino, from the bench, could have put the game to bed with two minutes remaining when Alexander-Arnold selected him without scoring in the area, only to guide his shot too high.
Midtjylland could have made the hosts pay at the last minute when Dreyer edged out Gomez and got into a heads up with Alisson. However, his failed attempt landed on the wrong side of the right post.
And instead, the Reds doubled their injury time lead, Salah fouled Paulinho as he ran into Alexander-Arnold’s direct pass and stepped forward to drive in the penalty and ultimately secure three points.
