Champions League – Liverpool-Salzburg
The holder of the trophy Liverpool hosts Salzburg in a match from Group E of the UEFA Champions League. The Reds have some catching up to do after their defeat against Napoli two weeks ago. They need points now.
How we said, Liverpool didn’t start the new season in the Champions League the best way possible. For a second consecutive season, Jurgen Klopp’s team suffered a defeat at the Stadio San Paolo from Napoli’s hands. The Italian side won the game with two late goals from Dries Mertens and Fernando Llorente.
Now Liverpool have to fight back. The European champions are showing a spectacular form in the Premier League, enjoying seven wins from seven games played. Some pundits think that Liverpool will focus almost entirely on winning the Premier League, but we don’t think that they will give up their Champions League trophy without a fight.
On Saturday Liverpool celebrated a seventh consecutive win in the Premier League. Thanks to a goal from Georginio Wijnaldum, the Reds won their visit to Sheffield United.
Salzburg started their Champions League campaign with a bang. The Austrian team hosted Genk at the Red Bull Arena and celebrated a spectacular 6-2 win, which put them on top of the group. The big hero of the game was the Norwegian teenager Erling Haland, who scored a hattrick for the hosts. Hwang Hee-Chan, Dominik Szoboszlai and Andreas Ulmer also added goals for Jesse Marsch’s team.
Of course, now Salzburg’s task will be much harder at the legendary Anfield Stadium. Especially when Liverpool will chase first points in the group after their loss in Naples. It’d be interesting to witness the duel between Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk and Salzburg’s striking force Erling Haland. The Reds are aware that they don’t have a choice here, but to start winning points. Let’s see if they can do it.