Liverpool 2-0 Bologna Analysis: Salah’s Record and Gravenberch’s Reliability Deliver Victory
Liverpool got their second win in this Champions League season, which marks Arne Slot‘s eight victory with The Reds. The Dutch technician has lost only one game so far, against Nottingham Forest, making him the first Liverpool coach to achieve this feat.
Bologna, who was not present in the top flight of european competitions for the last 60 years has put up a good display, generated chances and was not a team that was completely overran by their opponents. Although they did not get any points from this duel, they proved that they deserve a place in the Champions League.
Here are the main talking points from this game:
Mohamed Salah‘s Fifth Consecutive Home Game Goal
Mohamed Salah becomes the first Liverpool player to score in five consecutive Champions League games at Anfield. He was the most advanced player in Liverpool formation, providing the major outlet for counter attacks.
Bologna employed a central and compact structure, making it difficult for Liverpool to play through the middle of the pitch. Of course, the major drawback is that it leaves the wings less crowded, and Salah exploited this aspect. We can see this aspect at the opening goal, where both Salah and Luis Diaz occupied the space left by the compact defensive structure.
Mac Allister found that perfect through ball for Darwin Nunez, who then collapsed the entire structure around him, being surrounded by black shirts. Mac Allister found the perfect run in between the defense to crash the box. Nunez spotted Salah open on the wing, giving him plenty of time to deliver a cross to Mac Allister.
The same structure repeats at Salah’s goal, where the Egyptian scored a scream in the top corner after cutting inside. Again, he could cut inside and shoot because of the space left by Bologna’s compact defense. This allowed Salah to receive the ball on the wing, set up his shot, and take it. Alexander Arnold also had an overlapping run, so one of Bologna’s defenders had to keep an eye out for him, so he won’t receive the ball and cross it. Mohamed Salah was in a 1v1 situation. He beat his opponent and scored.
Salah’s performance ebbed and flowed during the game. After his assist for Mac Allister, he misplaced some passes, and he did not deliver on his usual quality of crosses. Even the best have off days, and if this is what Salah’s off day looks like, Liverpool fans have little reason to worry.
Ryan Gravenberch‘s Impresses in his Consistency
One thing stands out for Ryan Gravenberch. In this season, he did not have one poor game. The Dutch midfielder was consistent with his performance and did not disappoint once. This is a huge quality for a player. Reliability.
Gravenberch executes his role admirably. He links up the defense and attack. He is the player that receives the ball and makes thing happen, or takes it out from a difficult situation. One moment illustrates this. Gravenberch receives the ball in Liverpool’s own half. Two black shirts chase him and close on him. Instead of passing backwards, he flicks it, turns around, bypassing the pressure, and ends up in the other half of the pitch.
That is what you would expect from a world-class number 6. The midfielder ended up having seven progressive carries, the most in the game, tied up with Bologna’s Dan Ndoye. He also delivered three key passes, along with being the player who carried the ball the most, for 244 yards.
Statistics are Unfair to Bologna’s Performance
Statistics are misleading for Bologna, who looked like they were dominated in the entire game. But, Bologna proved they belong in the Champions League and can go toe-to-toe with the biggest teams in the competition.
The Rossoblus generated a xG of just 0,59, but if you watched the game, Bologna’s chances seemed much more dangerous than that. They hit the woodwork twice, saving Liverpool from what seemed to be certain goals. The visitors had more total shots than Liverpool and they shared the possession.
When Trent Alexander-Arnold and Robertson vacated their spaces in the back, Bologna looked to take advantage of this and make runs in behind. Few times offsides stopped them, but, for example, Ndoye’s chance that hit the woodwork came from exploiting this space. Vincenzo Italiano set up in a mid block, with compact central defense to frustrate Liverpool and prevent them from playing centrally, and disrupted Liverpool’s rhythm by playing physically and fouling tactically.
Conclusions
Bologna is back in the top flight of European football after 60 years of absence. And from what I saw in this game, they truly belong here and put up a good fight against one of Europe’s best teams, even after losing some key players such as Riccardo Calafiori and Joshua Zirkzee, along with head coach Thiago Motta.
Arne Slot had an amazing start of the season, losing just once in all competitions. Salah is delivering for Liverpool and Gravenberch’s consistency and reliability helps them to overcome any obstacles they face in building forward. So far Liverpool are undefeated in their Champions League run and will look to keep up that momentum.
