Mo Salah‘s 50th goal in the Champions League has Liverpool on the cusp of confirming their place in the top eight thanks to a 1-0 win at Girona.
Girona 0-1 Liverpool
Champions League (6) | Estadi Montilivi
December 10, 2024
Goals
Salah (pen) 63′
True to his word, Arne Slot named a strong starting lineup in pursuit of taking a big step towards guaranteeing a place in the top eight, which could be confirmed with results elsewhere by Wednesday.
After an unexpected break over the weekend, Liverpool arrived with fresh legs as Alisson marked his return after 11 games out and was put to the test early with three strong saves.
Joe Gomez, Darwin Nunez and Mo Salah all had early sighters on goal, while Girona sprung attacks on the counter from their deep defensive position.
The game found a lull before opening back up in what was a bizarre opening half, encapsulated by two poor executions from Nunez in the box before Alisson, again, was forced into a brilliant diving save.
If the Brazilian had any lingering concerns with his hamstring, they were quickly put to bed!
The Reds left plenty of gears to go into after the break, which is not uncommon for their time under Slot so far.
Half time: Girona 0-0 Liverpool
- Salah scores from penalty spot, 50th goal in Champions League
- Alisson returns from injury after 11 games out
- 6 wins from 6 in the competition
There were no changes at halftime for Liverpool and that included protecting Alisson, as he was called into action just seconds after the whistle with Trent Alexander-Arnold giving the ball away.
It gave needless early impetus to the hosts and Slot would have been thankful for Arnaut Danjuma’s wayward finishing after slaloming his way through Liverpool’s defence.
The Reds then slowly started to turn the screw and penned Girona in their own penalty area, triggering the chain of events that saw the referee sent to the screen and award a penalty.
Ex-Man United player Donny van de Beek brought Luis Diaz down in the box and who other than Salah to step up and convert for 1-0 – his 50th goal in the Champions League.
Slot’s men saw out the match in a professional manner and, notably, both Harvey Elliott and Wataru Endo were at least given some game time to close out the victory.
The result maintains Liverpool’s unblemished record in the Champions League and puts them one foot in the top eight.
TIA Man of the Match: Alisson
Referee: Benoit Bastien (FRA)
Girona: Gazzaniga; Frances, Juanpe, Krejci, Blind (Solis 77′); Romeu, Gutierrez; Asprilla, Van de Beek (Martin 77′), Gil (Portu 72′); Danjuma (Stuani 72′)
Subs not used: P. Lopez, L. Garcia, Martinez, D. Lopez, Ruiz, Clua, Kim, J. Garcia
Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Jones (Elliott 76′); Salah, Diaz (Endo 89′), Nunez (Gakpo 71′)
Subs not used: Kelleher, Jaros, Quansah, Norris, McConnell
Next Match: Fulham (H) – Premier League – Saturday, December 14, 3pm (GMT)
