Liverpool 4 Galatasaray 0 (5-1)
Just what the doctor ordered for Liverpool and Arne Slot. Liverpool needed a big result and performance tonight and that’s exactly what they got as they absolutely battered Galatasaray at Anfield. Liverpool were hounding the Turkish side in the opening part of the game with Cakir making error after error playing out from the back as Liverpool eventually found the opener in the 24th minute as Wirtzs’ corner was played back to Dominic Szoboszlai on the edge of the box who side footed the ball past Cakir to give Liverpool a much deserved opener. Just as the half was coming to a close Ismail Jakobs sloppily caught Szoboszlai in the box giving Liverpool a chance to take the lead with the last kick of the half, the ever reliable Mohammed Salah stepped up and hit a timid penalty down the middle as Cakir had a pretty easy penalty save in the end. It didn’t halt the momentum in the second half for Liverpool as Salah played the ball across the box for Ekitike to grab Liverpool’s second just five minutes into the second half. Straight from the restart Liverpool won the ball back and were flying forward as Wirtz played a brilliant pass to Salah who had his first-time shot saved by Cakir who could only palm it to Gravenberch who scored Liverpool’s third and finished the tie. Salah then managed to atone for the penalty miss with a quick one-two with Wirtz then fired a signature shot into the far corner to put Liverpool 4-0 up and kill the tie with a brilliant performance from Liverpool.
Could have been ten for Liverpool on the night. Honestly you would have thought it was a completely different team from the one that played on Sunday against Spurs but Liverpool were magnificent tonight and could have really embarrassed Galatasaray if they were more clinical on the night. I don’t know if the team suits Europe more or if the team gets up for European nights but this was a real Jurgen Klopp esque performance tonight from Liverpool who didn’t give Gala a second to breathe all night on the ball. That duo of Ekitike and Wirtz were the real difference in the attack compared to Sunday giving Liverpool so much more life up there and options as to where they want to attack, no more Gakpo up front for Liverpool in the future if they actually want to be a serious team.
Words can’t even describe that Galatasaray performance. I can only imagine what Galatasaray fans were thinking when watching their team put in a performance lacking of just about everything needed to be competitive at Anfield in the Champions League. The injury of Victor Osimhen didn’t help but I wonder why the Galatasaray manager left him on until half-time when clearly he couldn’t move his arm following a collision with Konate in the first 15 minutes. I don’t think Gala even had an attack until the 40th minute or so which amounted to nothing as they fell into the same trap they did in Turin in the last round. Why the manager went for the same approach I’ll never understand after going into extra-time against a 10-man Juventus in the previous round, they were never going to hold onto a 1-goal lead at Anfield but even I didn’t predict just how bad they were going to play tonight, awful awful performance.
What a season Dominic Szoboszlai is having. I have to admit I’ve never really been that big of a fan of Szoboszlai before this season as he’s mainly been a running merchant for Liverpool in my opinion over the last few seasons but he’s gone to a completely different level this season even at right-back, he’s scored some brilliant goals for Liverpool so far this season and been a real light in what’s been a pretty dark season for Liverpool on the whole. He does seem a waste at right-back when you can see how much he offers going forward centrally but I suppose Liverpool are stuck for options at that position with Connor Bradley out for the season, I think Liverpool’s player of the season this year is already decided.
It’s PSG next in the Champions League for Liverpool. A rematch from last season awaits for Liverpool as they face last seasons champions PSG in what’s sure to be a great tie. PSG will go into the tie as favourites seeing how inconsistent Liverpool have been this season but they can hurt Luis Enrique’s side as we saw Monaco do in the last round, it’ll be tough for just about anyone in Europe to beat PSG if they play like they did against Chelsea but with the second leg at Anfield why can’t Liverpool go into the game with belief of going through to the semi-final? We’ll see in April just how competitive this Liverpool side can be in the Champions League this season.