Liverpool came from behind in the tie to dismantle Galatasaray 4-0 at Anfield and set up a Champions League quarter-final with holders Paris Saint-Germain.
The pressure was on Arne Slot after a one-goal defeat in Istanbul but Dominik Szoboszlai set the tone with the opening goal in another driving display as Liverpool played with the sort of tempo that supporters have craved from their team all season.
Mohamed Salah’s tame penalty was saved in first-half stoppage time but the Egyptian proceeded to take the tie away from Galatasaray after the interval. He was involved in goals for Hugo Ekitike and Ryan Gravenberch before making it four himself in style.
There were too many chances to mention them all in a lopsided contest in which Victor Osimhen departed injured at the interval. Alexis Mac Allister hit the crossbar, Salah too. How Anfield relished the return of European knockout football in a stuttering season.
PSG will be a different class of opponent in the next round, having knocked Liverpool out of this competition when in rather better form last term. But just the sight of Slot’s side purring like this will encourage supporters that the campaign could yet end in glory.
‘Legend’ Salah scores record goal
Salah’s strength of character to shrug off his poor penalty to help win the tie for Liverpool is what will be remembered as he scored his 50th Champions League goal – the first African player to achieve that feat in the competition. A night of history.
“I am so happy for him,” Ekitike told TNT Sports. “He’s a legend. Sometimes people say he’s had a difficult season but for players like us who have been watching him for years, he had many chances tonight but he still had the mindset to give me a brilliant ball to score.”
Szoboszlai’s revenge mission
Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai speaking to TNT Sports:
“We were on them from the first minute. After the last game, when I was giving an interview I heard them celebrating.
“I spoke with a couple of guys that in Turkey, you celebrate after a game and it doesn’t matter if there’s a second leg.
“But I took it a little bit personally, a couple of us did as well. I am still in a mind to never celebrate too early, it gave us a little push.
“From the first second, it was just all in.”
Analysis: Liverpool upped the tempo
“I cannot think of one match all season where Liverpool have put in the perfect performance in both attack and defence and been three or four nil up,” Jamie Carragher had said at the weekend. “Every game has been a struggle.” This display was different.
Liverpool went for Galatasaray from the start, feeding off the energy of a home crowd that did not include the banned supporters of the visiting team. In his programme notes, Slot had called for his team to go “the extra mile” to make the comeback happen.
“The incentives are there and we must give everything we have got to secure them. The onus is on us. This is our opportunity to go to the next round and also to remind ourselves and everyone else what we are capable of. Let’s make the most of it.”
Liverpool delivered so spectacularly, their performance so dominant, that Galatasaray goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir was one of the standout players on the pitch despite conceding four. He was overwhelmed, a reminder of what these Liverpool players can do in full flow.
It has not been seen enough this season, too many games still in the balance late on, and that has cost Liverpool in the Premier League. But there are still prizes to play for, European and domestic. And maybe a bit more belief now that those prizes can be pursued.
Slot: I liked almost every minute!
Liverpool boss Arne Slot speaking to TNT Sports:
“I liked almost every single minute. I liked the way we played, the way we pressed, the reaction of the fans when Galatasaray were doing what I expected them to do.
“They were on the floor, waving, trying to kill our momentum, but the fans reacted straight away and so did our players.
“The only thing I could complain about was throughout this season we’ve created so many [more] chances than we’ve scored, and even today we’ve underperformed against our xG! That’s hardly possible [when you score four goals but the xG was 5.02].
“There were so many chances, and the good thing is we’ve had very good halves and then dropped our intensity for 10 or so minutes which is when the other team usually score.
“Today we didn’t drop our level at all. The other team didn’t have a chance, I think. We kept on creating our own chances, and it’s a good win, a good performance.”
Story of the match in stats…
Champions League draw in full
Paris Saint-Germain vs Liverpool
Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich
Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid
Sporting vs Arsenal
Quarter-finals: April 7-8 and 14-15 Semi-finals: April 28-29 and May 5-6 Final: May 30 (Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary)
