Liverpool 3 Maribor 0: Three talking points from the Reds display in Anfield

Bengaluru, November 2: Liverpool edged closer towards the Champions League knockout stages for the first time since 2008-09 with a hard-fought victory over Maribor.

Mohamed Salah broke the deadlock in the second half with a clever finish, while James Milner had a penalty brilliantly saved by 39-year-old goalkeeper Jasmin Handanovic.

However, Liverpool’s constant adventures forward did result in further two goals. Emre Can scored the second for the Reds while Daniel Sturridge scored his first Champions League goal for Liverpool after coming on from the bench.

Here are the talking points of the game:

Liverpool break Maribor defence

Liverpool thrashed Maribor 7-0 away from home in the last game but the Slovenian side took a completely different approach in this game which made things hard for the Merseyside club.

We have seen very often how Liverpool struggle against teams that defend deep and Maribor were excellent defensively in the first half clearing everything that came their way.

Liverpool usually do not depend on crosses to hurt their opposition but against Maribor, Klopp’s side made as many as 27 crosses and 2 of them led to goals. Fans will be happy to see how their team managed to beat Maribor despite the Slovenian side literally parking a bus.

Mohamed Salah does his job

Liverpool’s summer signing Mohamed Salah scored his tenth goal in all competitions with his excellent strike against Maribor. The Egyptian winger has been the best player in a Liverpool shirt by miles and he hardly has a bad day in office.

His movement, buzzing across the line, wore the defence down, and he’s essential to the Liverpool cause. His brilliant flick opened the scoring on 48 minutes. Salah has been directly involved in 13 goals for the Reds this season - 10 goals and 3 assists.

Oxlade-Chamberlain impresses

Liverpool’s big money summer signing from Arsenal, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made only his second start in a Liverpool shirt. Most of his appearances so far this season has been from the bench and he had hardly impressed the fans but yesterday, the Englishman’s display was much improved.

He was lively if not effective as the game got underway, seeing a shot deflected over the bar and losing the ball a couple of times down the left. He switched with Salah for the latter half of the first period and looked more comfortable, putting a cross in for Roberto Firmino which almost led to a goal.

The former Arsenal star remained on the pitch for the entire game and though there were some encouraging signs he’s not quite there yet.