Mohamed Salah shows his class to guide Liverpool past lively Bologna - 5 talking points

Mohamed Salah's slick assist and stunning goal took Liverpool past a determined Bologna to register their second Champions League win of the campaign.

A superb cross from Salah put the opener on a plate for Alexis Mac Allister to open the scoring in the 11th minute, before Darwin Nunez came close to doubling Liverpool's lead.

Bologna's Dan Ndoye hit the woodwork twice as they sought to find a way back into the game, but Salah put the seal on a low-key Liverpool win with a superb curling strike from the edge of the box. Here are the main talking points from Anfield.

1. Alexis Mac Allister leads from the front






Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring in the 11th minute
(Image: Getty Images)

In the past week much has been made of Mac Allister joining Liverpool's famed 'leadership group', the collective set up by Jurgen Klopp featuring the players who will don the captain's armband when needed. But in truth he's been a Liverpool leader from the moment he arrived at the club.

At around £35million the Argentina World Cup winner might well be Liverpool's best piece of business since they won the Premier League in 2020, and he took the initiative early on to open the scoring and the game for Liverpool. We're used to seeing Mac Allister strike the ball well from distance but here it was his clever movement which was the key, as he ghosted in to score from close range. He's a fine footballer.

2. Mo Salah the creator as well as the scorer






Salah is already up to five assists for the season
(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

In truth Mac Allister couldn't really miss thanks to the excellent cross from Salah which put the goal on a plate for him. This was Salah's fifth assist of the season already, and another indication of how his game is evolving as he gets older.

Having arrived as the quicksilver inverted winger who would drive for goal each and every time he got the ball, in the past couple of years we've been seeing a newer, more creative Salah, and a player happier to work as a facilitator for others when he isn't doing the wonderful solo things he can do such as he did for his goal. It could be an approach which is adding years to his career, but the question is will he be at Anfield beyond 2025? Liverpool need him to be.

3. Darwin Nunez fails to take his chance






Darwin Nunez struggled in attack for the Reds
(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Head in hands, a pensive look to the heavens, and eventually an even more pensive look to the sidelines once he caught sight of Diogo Jota coming on after an hour. It turned into another one of those frustrating Anfield nights for Darwin Nunez.

The Uruguayan had been given his chance after missing out on the weekend win over Wolves through illness, but he failed to make the most of it as we saw the all too familiar snatching at chances, blazes over the crossbar and failures to stay onside. Nunez's supporters will always say he remains a work in progress, and that is true to a degree, but he'll need more consistent progress if he's to consistently figure under Slot.

4. A sloppiness that will worry Arne Slot






Slot looked less than impressed with his team in the latter period of the first half
(Image: PA)

After going 1-0 up there was a spell where it looked like Liverpool were going to run away with the game, but the ease with which a sloppiness set into their game will be a worry for Slot, especially with big games against the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen and Aston Villa to come after the international break.

One of those would surely have taken the chances Bologna missed before half-time, but Ndoye hit the woodwork twice and Kacper Urbanski brought a good save from Alisson. There were nerves around Anfield at those moments as Liverpool gave the ball away when building from the back, something which is perhaps to be expected they still get used to Slot's style of play, but they could really do with cutting out the errors soon.

5. Six appeal

How many points will you need to get through from this new league phase? Current estimates suggest around 15 or 16, and so after picking up six from six the Reds should feel very happy with their work from their two meetings with Italian sides.

Tougher tests await, but with the aim being to avoid a place in the playoff round in the New Year, Liverpool have gone a long way towards being able to cruise down through the gears during this most hectic of seasons, something that Slot will be desperate to do given his apparent hesitance to rotate.

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