Liverpool manager Arne Slott was not too pleased with the 1-0 win against Girona, which extended the Champions League leaders’ perfect start to six matches.
Mohamed Salah’s 63rd-minute penalty, his 50th goal of the competition, was the difference, but it was far from plain sailing as the first half proved particularly troublesome for Slott.
“If you ask me about all six games, I’m really happy with all the results,” he said.
No player has scored more goals in Europe’s big five leagues in all competitions this season than Mohamed Salah (28 – 16 goals, 12 assists)
“I am really satisfied with five games, with our game.
Slot instructs on the Girona Canal
When asked what made him so unhappy, he added: “A lot, especially two things.
“If you’re playing against a team that has such a good understanding of football and knows how to get the ball out from the back, like other teams we’ve faced recently, like Manchester City or Real Madrid, you have to have that much. be intense if you want to make it difficult for them.
“But if you wait for a few seconds every time and then press, you get out of the game so easily because this team can cause you problems and that’s what they’ve shown throughout the Champions League campaign. except for PSV Eindhoven’s away match.
“I almost feel sorry for them because they deserve more in this campaign than the three points they have now.
“And every time we lost the ball, we weren’t aggressive enough, almost every time they got to our goal.
“We hardly controlled the game, maybe the second half was better. I try to be positive.”
Goalkeeper Alisson celebrates Liverpool’s victory
The low intensity meant goalkeeper Alison Becker had a busier night than she would have expected after two months out with a hamstring injury.
He made five saves in the first half to help extend the club’s run without conceding to nearly nine hours, and Slott was indebted to the Brazil international.
“We have an incredible goalkeeper, I said jokingly, maybe the players wanted to see how fit he is to give him so much work,” he added.
“He showed that he is probably one of the best, in my opinion, the best goalkeeper in the world.
“Hopefully he can continue these performances and hopefully he can stay fit more.”
Why is Allison’s return important?
Sky Sports’ Ben Grounds.
This result gives Slot a chance to spin in Liverpool’s last two league games, don’t underestimate the benefit as they try to fight on all fronts.
Former Southampton and Chelsea midfielder Oriol Romeu admitted Girona had to do their best to throw Liverpool out of their rhythm and the hosts created several chances to seal a shock victory.
Brazil international Alisson helped the Reds record a fifth successive clean sheet in the competition, which they last achieved in 2005. The 32-year-old has been sidelined since October with a hamstring problem which has seen him miss 11 matches.
Caoimh Kelleher has kept five clean sheets in his absence, including against Real Madrid and Manchester City, but made his first real mistake at Newcastle last Wednesday when the latter’s miscalculation held the hosts to a 3-3 draw. play a draw.
But Allison has that extra quality, and he showed it to frustrate Arnaut Danjuma on several occasions on a night when those in front of him were not at their best.
Girona’s end product let them down, but when those moments of quality came it was Alisson who stood up to make sure there were no slips in Catalonia.
“Allison was definitely out for two months,” Slott said. “I joked with the players that maybe they wanted to see how ready he was because they let him make so many saves. But he showed , why I always say that he is our number one.”
Darwin Núñez, who has scored just once in his last 10 matches, was denied twice by Paulo Gazánigan, but the Uruguayan once again had those all-too-common frustrating performances with a header from Dominik Shobosla’s hanging cross.
But the hosts were undaunted and would have gone ahead had it not been for Alisson and Daley Blind’s lack of composure in front of goal.
The former Manchester United, Ajax and Bayern Munich defender’s last goal came 11 months ago, and it was evident from Miguel Gutierrez’s six-yard pass.
Alisson saved Alejandro Francis’s follow-up effort, parried Miguel Gutierrez’s shot and dived to his right to keep out Yasser Asprilla’s long-range effort. Liverpool rallied to win after the restart.
