For the first time in six months, Jurgen Klopp might have broken his new tradition of watching football matches with his feet up somewhere sunny, bottle of beer in hand, enjoying the game without a care in the world.
It was a meeting between his old club, a team that will remain in his heart for life, and his new pupils. Much to the chagrin in Germany: Klopp will soon become Red Bull’s global football director and will therefore have influence on the strategy of RB Leipzig and RB Salzburg, among others.
He would hardly have been pacing his living room gesticulating like his famous touchline antics at Anfield, but one imagines that this fiercely contested, high-octane battle, in keeping with the Red Bull theme, at less made the senses roar again. .
A football addict can’t stay away for long, so he will return here in January in the hope that Leipzig, who weren’t even a club when Liverpool won their fifth of six European Cups in 2005, can give a boost genuine for the Bundesliga title.
They put up a good battle and made this a difficult test for Arne Slot and Co, but Liverpool finally crushed them with a defiant victory after Darwin Núñez’s first-half goal made the team 11 wins from 12 in the season. Red Bull gives you wings and all that.
Darwin Núñez scored his second goal of the season to give Liverpool the lead against RB Leipzig
The Reds maintained their perfect start to the competition with victory over the Bundesliga leaders.
That means the Dutchman is the first manager in Liverpool’s history to win 11 of his first 12, bettering Sir Kenny Dalglish’s start – which isn’t bad considering Slot sent a warning to the Reds’ title rivals. on the eve of the game saying they had I haven’t seen anything yet.
“There are no performances yet,” he said Tuesday. That must have been ominous reading for Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta, given how well Liverpool have started the season. Do any fans still fear a drop in form in the post-Klopp era?
“We should be proud because so many great teams have worn this jersey and so many great coaches have been at the club,” Slot said. ‘So achieving something that hasn’t been done before is almost impossible and it’s always nice.
“But there is something that is much better than records and you know what I mean: trophies.”
This display was not perfect, although Núñez, Cody Gakpo and Virgil van Dijk were inches away from scoring goals. Peter Gulacsi, who was in Liverpool’s academy and also played for Hull, among others, produced an inspired performance to keep the scores down.
This trip to Leipzig, a charming city with Eastern Bloc vibes, represented what could well have been Slot’s toughest test as Liverpool manager. Marco Rose’s team is undefeated in the German Bundesliga and trails leaders Bayern Munich only on goal difference.
They also started well and had multiple early opportunities. Lois Openda almost advanced towards the goal, but was perplexed by the tough defense of Ibrahima Konate (former member of this parish with four seasons in Leipzig), then Amadou Haidara saw a powerful shot saved.
The creators of the goalkeeper’s errors would have been thrilled minutes later when Caoimhin Kelleher almost gave Leipzig the lead. The Irishman came off his line, misjudged the rebound of the ball and his attempted header clearance was weak and did not clear the danger.
Benjamin Sesko, the highly-rated Slovenian striker who was considered “one to watch” at the European Championships this summer but flopped, saw a curling attempt from a tight angle go wide. One lucky Kelleher, who by now found himself in no man’s land, could only puff out his cheeks in relief.
Lois Openda thought she had opened the scoring for the hosts but her brilliant shot was disallowed for offside.
Arne Slot has become the first Liverpool manager to win his first three European Cup games since Bill Shankly.
Núñez had scored just one goal for the Reds since April and was criticized by some pundits for wasting his finish, so he needed a bit of luck in front of goal. And that was precisely what he achieved when he scored to open the scoring in the 27th minute with one of the easiest goals he has ever scored.
Kostas Tsimikas sent an inviting cross to Mohamed Salah, who headed the ball towards goal with a postage stamp into the bottom corner. “Sorry, Mo, but I’ll take this one, mate,” Núñez could have said, as he approached the back post to steal Salah’s thunder and score.
The smile on Salah’s face painted a picture without hard feelings. Gone are the days when Salah was obsessed with being the main man (Sadio Mane once accused him of selfishness in front of goal) and the Egyptian is now happily creator-in-chief too.
Despite Leipzig’s strong start, they faded after Liverpool’s first goal and the away team should have doubled their lead before the break. Núñez worked with Gulacsi at full speed before the goalkeeper headed Virgil van Dijk’s header off the crossbar.
Swiss referee Sandro Scharer, happy with the cards, disconcertingly rejected what looked like a penalty when Núñez was brought down by Willi Orban in the six-yard box. The contact clearly occurred with the Uruguayan’s legs and he sat on the ground in disbelief as his appeals led to nothing.
Gakpo could have scored a double with two great chances. First, with a beautiful hidden pass from Dominik Szoboszlai, he managed to cross the goal, but the Dutchman shot into the side of the net. He was then thwarted by Gulacsi at close range. Alexis Mac Allister also hit the crossbar.
The visitors felt they should have been awarded a penalty when Nunez was brought down by Leipzig captain Willi Orban.
Former Reds stopper Peter Gulacsi makes a series of saves to keep Leipzig in contention.
Liverpool might have had to rue their mistakes as Sesko attacked goal only for Kelleher to make a brilliant save from close range near the end. A good attacking show early on, then a stellar defensive display late on to keep their seventh clean sheet in 12 games.
It felt like Liverpool were holding on a little late as several passes went astray and stopped finding paths through Leipzig’s relentless pressure, and they were lucky when Openda burst through on goal only to alter his lines in stoppage time.
Slot added: “I don’t think we started the game very well, but after the first 15 minutes I really liked what I saw.” It’s a shame that at the end of a game like this you need big roles from your two centre-backs and the goalkeeper. “A match like that should have been ours after 60-70 minutes.”
Even the calm and collected Dutchman must have been overcome with anxiety, so Slot ordered Curtis Jones to carry the ball into the corner to run out the clock, but his team managed to hold on and maintain their 100 per cent record in Europe.
Back to Klopp, he will be delighted with Liverpool’s progress – his former assistant Pep Lijnders told Mail Sport this week that his greatest wish was to leave the club on a high rather than staying too long and letting it decline – while he is impressed by his new friends in Saxony.
Fans of his first club, Mainz, held banners last weekend that read: “Have you forgotten everything we gave you?” and ‘Bekloppt’, which translates to ‘are you crazy?’. Here he has been accused of selling his soul by joining the Red Bull empire.
He will have been hurt by those banners and the protests from Borussia Dortmund, who hate Leipzig more than even Bayern, although his move was not a huge surprise given his long-standing relationships with members of Red Bull’s leadership.
Openda was disappointed again at the end when his shot at the far post was disallowed for offside.
Marco Rose’s men are still looking for their first point in the Champions League this season
Liverpool have won 11 of their first 12 games this season, including six in a row away from home for the first time.
Perhaps by the end of this game, however, you will be back on your feet to enjoy some close and entertaining competition. While the majority of Germany has turned against him for his decision to join the controversial franchise, Liverpool fans love him for the state he left the team in.
Spaces can be added to that list, but that doesn’t take away from the excellent work the 46-year-old is doing since making the important move from Feyenoord this summer. Three out of three in the Champions League, leading the Premier League, fits Klopp’s shoes perfectly.