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Liverpool returned to winning ways in the UEFA Champions League with a convincing 4-0 victory against Red Star Belgrade at Anfield. This win takes Liverpool to the top of the table at the halfway point of the group stage as PSG and Napoli played out a 2-2 draw.
The hosts withstood an initial barrage of Red Star's advances and broke the deadlock in the 20th minute after Roberto Firmino scored from Andy Robertson's pass. Mohamed Salah doubled the lead on the stroke of half-time after rounding off a delightful move started by Gini Wijnaldum.
Red Star were further punished when their captain Filip Stojkovic was adjudged to have impeded Sadio Mane in the penalty box and the ensuing penalty was calmly dispatched by Salah for his 50th goal for The Reds. Zvezda's misery was complete ten minutes from time as Sadio Mane latched on to Daniel Sturridge's pass and slotted past Milan Borjan.
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In this article, we take a look at the five talking points from Liverpool's clash against Red Star at Anfield:
#5 Klopp's men make easy work of a poor Red Star side
During the course of the current campaign, Liverpool have often grinded out results rather than trouncing their opponents. After a series of hard-fought draws and victories against the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Huddersfield, Liverpool returned to their prolific best against Red Star Belgrade in the UEFA Champions League.
Klopp handed Fabinho his first European start for the hosts and brought back Trent Alexander Arnold and Sadio Mane for Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana.
Much to the German's delight, Liverpool put in a convincing performance with the defense, midfield, and attack working in tandem which resulted in the visitors being put to the sword.
Xherdan Shaqiri and Gini Wijnaldum were at their best carrying out seamless transitions from defense to attack, with Fabinho acting as the number six, screening the back four. Andy Robertson was at his searing best with a series of buccaneering runs down the left flank and the front three put in a much-improved performance on the night.
Red Star were no match for the hosts and the gulf in class was observed in the final score.
#4 Red Star lose steam after an intense opening spell
Red Star looked to get things back on track against Liverpool after being battered 1-6 by Paris Saint-Germain in the previous matchday. The visitors displayed some intent in the opening 15 minutes as they looked to attack Liverpool with their own version of the counter press.
The Serbian Champions lined up with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Jovicic and Krsticic anchoring the midfield and Richmond Boakye leading the front line.
Jovicic and Kristicic were successful in recycling possession by congesting the midfield. With this, they not only stifled Liverpool in the early exchanges but also fed the ball faster to the likes of Ebecilio and Srnic, who looked to cause Liverpool trouble with their pace.
Their plan worked till Liverpool took the lead in the 20th minute after Xherdan Shaqiri's perfect through ball found an overlapping Andy Robertson who assisted Roberto Firmino. In attempts to get into the game, Red Star grew more and more desperate with resulted in the visitors conceding cheap fouls and getting booked needlessly.
Liverpool took advantage of Red Star's desperation and shifted through the gears to cause more damage, ultimately leading to the Serbians conceding four on the night.
Had the visitors slowed down the game's pace on certain occasions, Liverpool would have faced a more difficult task to break Red Star down.
#3 Fabinho shows his class on European debut
Much had been made on Jurgen Klopp's decision to not start Fabinho in the opening weeks of the new season. The reason is simple: each player needs a certain amount of time to adjust to the new manager's tactics and physical demands of the new league.
Klopp followed the same approach with Andy Robertson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, which ultimately reaped rewards for his side. Hence, the German was in no hurry to put Fabinho into the starting eleven and this may prove to be yet another excellent decision made by the German.
Fabinho looked a bit nervy in the first ten minutes but grew in stature as the game progressed. He used his intelligence and excellent ability to read the game to great effect and made a number of vital tackles and interceptions in the middle of the park.
His ability to play in between the lines was used to great effect and the Brazilian acted as the perfect link between defense and attack. The former Monaco midfielder knew when to slow the tempo and his presence gave license to the likes of Shaqiri and Wijnaldum to run riot in the opposition half.
Fabinho ended the game with a pass success rate of 90%, made two key passes and successfully completed 7/9 tackles.
#2 Red Star staring at elimination after Matchday 3
After suffering yet another drubbing in the UEFA Champions League, Red Star Belgrade's chances of making it to the Europa League, let alone qualify for the next round of the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League has been dealt with a serious blow.
The Serbs started their campaign with a resolute draw at home to SSC Napoli. However, things have gone south since then. They suffered a demoralizing 1-6 defeat to Paris Saint Germain and more recently a 0-4 drubbing at the hands of Liverpool at Anfield.
Red Star lack the requisite quality to trouble the likes of Liverpool or PSG and do not possess the proper game management skills to eke out results which was seen in their inability to shift through the gears at Anfield.
In case Red Star don't buck up, there is no hope for them to stay alive in Europe. Red Star have become the whipping boys of group C with such horrendous performances.
#1 Xherdan Shaqiri is proving to be the X-factor for Liverpool this season
Liverpool's failure to land a creative midfielder in the summer transfer window sparked numerous debates whether or not they missed out on the final piece in the jigsaw. Xherdan Shaqiri could just be the midfielder Liverpool have missed since Oxlade Chamberlain got injured towards the end of last season.
In spite of been criticized for his poor attitude, Xherdan Shaqiri has gone all out to prove his doubters wrong with impressive displays against Southampton, Huddersfield and now, against Red Star.
Shaqiri played an instrumental role in Liverpool's opener as he provided a perfectly weighted through ball to Andy Robertson who in turn assisted Roberto Firmino. The former Stoke City midfielder also provided a beautiful assist for his side's second goal. Apart from this, he worked hard to regain possession and exploited the spaces left by Red Star's defense and midfield with his impressive passing range.
His performance earned him a well-deserved standing ovation from the Anfield faithful which was seen when he was taken off in the 68th minute. Shaqiri is a versatile player who can play in any position across the front three and can also operate from deeper positions when called upon.
Liverpool have desperately needed a game changer from the bench, an X-factor who can inject quality when called upon. They now have one in the form of Xherdan Shaqiri.
