Liverpool defeated Galatasaray 4-0 at Anfield, setting them up to face holders Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Arne Slott was under pressure after the one-goal loss to Istanbul, but Liverpool played with the kind of tempo their supporters have wanted from their team all season, and Dominik Szoboszlai set the tone with another driving show to open the scoring.
Mohamed Salah’s modest penalty was saved in first-half stoppage time, but the Egyptian equalized for Galatasaray after the interval. He contributed to goals for Hugo Ekitike and Ryan Gravenbirch before scoring the fourth goal himself.
There were too many opportunities to mention it in a lopsided game where Victor Osimhen came on as a substitute and was forced to leave due to injury. Alexis Mac Allister hit the crossbar and Salah also hit a shot. How happy Anfield was at the return of European knockout football amidst such a stagnant season.
PSG eliminated Liverpool, who had performed quite well last season, from this competition, so their next opponent will be of a different class. But the mere sight of such purring on the part of Slott should encourage supporters that the campaign could still end in glory.
‘Legend’ Salah scores record goal
Salah’s strength of character as he brushed aside a poor penalty to help Liverpool equalize will be remembered as he scores his 50th goal in the Champions League – becoming the first African player to achieve this feat in the competition. A night of history.
Mohamed Salah is hugged by Dominik Szoboszlai after scoring Liverpool’s fourth goal against Galatasaray
“I’m very happy for him,” Ekitike told TNT Sports. “He’s a legend. Sometimes people say he had a difficult season, but for players like us who have watched him for years, tonight he had a lot of chances but still had the mindset to give me a great ball to score a goal.”
Shoboshrai’s Mission of Revenge
Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai told TNT Sport:
“From the first moment we were on their side. After the last game, when I was giving an interview, I could hear them celebrating.
“I spoke to some players and they said that in Turkey they celebrate after the match and it doesn’t matter whether there is a second leg or not.
“But I took it a little bit personally, and so did our couple. I’m still mindful not to celebrate too early, it gave us a little bit of a boost.
“I was all in from the first second.”
Analysis: Liverpool increased the tempo
Jamie Carragher said at the weekend: “I can’t think of a single game all season where Liverpool put in a perfect performance both attacking and defending and lost by three or four points.” “Every game was a struggle.” This display was different.
Liverpool took on Galatasaray from the start, feeding off the energy of the home crowd, which did not include the visiting team’s banned supporters. In his program notes, Slott called on his team to “go the extra mile” to make his return a reality.
“The incentive is there, so we have to do everything we can to secure it. The responsibility is on us. This is an opportunity to move on to the next round and an opportunity to remind ourselves and everyone else of our capabilities. Let’s make the most of it.”
Liverpool performed so well and so dominant that Galatasaray goalkeeper Ugurcan Çakir was one of the standout players on the pitch despite conceding four goals. He was dominant and a reminder of what Liverpool players can do when in full flow.
We haven’t seen enough of that this season, with too many games still unbalanced late in the season and it’s costing Liverpool in the Premier League. But there are still awards for playing in Europe and domestically. And you might feel a little more confident that you can pursue these awards.
Slots: I loved almost every minute!
Liverpool manager Arne Slott told TNT Sports.
“I loved almost every moment. I loved the way Galatasaray played, the way they pressed, the way the fans reacted when they were doing what I expected.”
“They were on the floor waving their hands and trying to kill our momentum, but the fans reacted immediately and so did our players.
“The only thing I can complain about is that throughout this season we have created more (more) chances than we have scored. And even today we underperformed against xG! That is almost impossible (if you score 4 goals but have an xG of 5.02).”
“We had so many chances, and the good thing was that after we had a very good first half, we lowered our intensity for about 10 minutes when the other team often scored.
“We didn’t let our level drop at all today. I don’t think the other team had any chances. We continued to create chances for ourselves. It was a good win and a good performance.”
The story of the game in terms of statistics…
Champions League complete draw
Paris Saint-Germain vs Liverpool
Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich
Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid
Sporting vs Arsenal
Quarterfinals: April 7-8, 14-15 Semi-finals: April 28-29, May 5-6 Final: May 30 (Puskas Arena, Budapest, Hungary)
