Liverpool continued their relentless march at home and abroad with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Girona in the Champions League, moving the Reds to a perfect six-from-six in European play.
Mohamed Salah dispatched his 50th UEFA Champions League goal from the penalty spot after the hour mark to keep Arne Slot’s side perfect in the competition thus far, sitting top of the table comfortably.
By contrast, Girona have just one win on their debut in Europe’s premier competition, and head coach Michel was left to rue missed chances after an overall spirited display.
Liverpool started confidently as expected, with Slot able to summon a strong squad after the Merseyside derby against Everton was postponed on Saturday due to bad weather.
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Alisson returned from a hamstring injury to score for the first time since October 5 and the Brazilian foreigner was called into action to deny Bryan Gill’s second attempt in the 11th minute. The attack should not have come so far away, considering that Daley Blind shot from above at a cross from the left wing by Miguel Gutiérrez with the goal at his mercy.
Gil lost his balance while scoring and Alisson also made some precision paints to beat a Yaser Asprilla goal after his counterpart Paulo Gazzaniga thwarted Darwin Nunez.
Gazzaniga, the busier goalkeeper at the start of the second half, smartly denied Andy Robertson on the end of a Ryan Gravenberch pass. However, this attack was later decisively recalled for video review.
Donny van de Beek was penalized for tripping Luis Díaz inside the area. In the end, the resolution was the correct one, although Van de Beek can consider himself unfortunate. Salah set up Gazzaniga to score his 16th of the season in all competitions. Match after match, it looks like this one will end up with more medals in his collection, even at this early stage.
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Venue: Estadi Montilivi, GironaReferee: Benoit Bastien (France)
Confirmed line-ups:
Girona (4-3-2-1, left to right): 13. Paulo Gazzaniga (GK) — 16. Alejandro Frances, 15 years old. Juanpe, 18 years old. Ladislav Krejci, 17 years old. Daley Blind — 6. Donny van de Beek, 14 years old Oriel Romeu, 3. Miguel Gutiérrez — 10. Yaser Asprilla, 20. Bryan Gul — 11. Amaut Danjuma
Liverpool (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Alisson (GK) — 66. Trent Alexander-Arnold, 2. Joe Gomez, 4. Virgil van Dijk, 26. Andy Robertson — 8. Dominik Szoboszlai, 38. Ryan Gravenberch, 17. Curtis Jones — 11. Mohamed Salah, 9. Darwin Nunez, 7. Luis Diaz
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FULL TIME: Girona 0-1 Liverpool
Girona will feel this match is a missed opportunity to salvage their European hopes, but Liverpool secured three vital points in unconvincing fashion. The Reds worked hard to earn their penalty and then stopped play to protect the lead, but were far from dominant. Girona missed several important opportunities, none of them as big as Bryan Gil’s mistake.
63 mins: Liverpool have had to be patient and scrap at various points but they have the breakthrough and it’s that man Mo Salah! A VAR review penalised Donny van de Beek for a clumsy foul on Luis Diaz and Salah stepped up to send Paulo Gazzaniga the wrong way.
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Mo Salah with his goal of the #UCL to break the impasse in Spain ? pic. twitter. com/sUsjBXPqqY
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Salah moves from the penalty spot! ?? @tntsports and @discoveryplusUK pic. twitter. com/Qj0hLTHl3J
Ukrainian foreigner Viktor Tsygankov will likely be out for the rest of December, while Bojan Miovski sprained his ankle in training and will miss this match.
However, Girona is counting on the comeback of young Colombian Jhon Solís after missing the defeat against Madrid, while full-back Arnau Martínez returns from suspension. He joins Solís on the bench.
Liverpool meet some familiar opposition in this match, with former Manchester United duo Daley Blind and Donny van de Beek both now in Girona colours and starting.
Girona line-up (4-2-3-1, left): Gazzaniga (GK) – Arnau Martínez, López, Krejci, Gutiérrez – Martín, Romeu – Asprilla, Van de Beek, Gil – Ruiz
Injured: Tsygankov (undiscus), Miovski (ankle)Suspended: None
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Liverpool have received a boost in their latest educational consultation ahead of their trip to Spain. Goalkeeper Alisson and striker Diogo Jota participated in the consultation. Alisson makes his first appearance in goal since October 5 and is one of four changes.
There are still disorders in defence, with Ibrahima Konate, Conor Bradley and Kostas Tsimikas expected to return before the end of December.
Midfielder Alexis Mac Allister must serve a one-match suspension.
Liverpool lineup (4-2-3-1, left): Alisson (GK) – Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson – Gravenberch, Jones – Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz – Núñez
Injured: Konate (knee), Bradley (thigh), Tsimikas (foot), Alisson (thigh, doubtful), Jota (doubtful)Suspended: Mac Allister
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Dom is the Senior Content Creator at Sporting News UK. He previously worked as a fan logo editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he gained more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for news agencies Stats Perform and Press Association. Dom has covered primary outdoor football events, adding Euro 2016 and World Cup 2018 in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, as well as high-profile foreign matches from the Premier League, Champions League and England. Cricket and boxing are his other wonderful sporting passions and he has covered Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from the ring.