Xabi Alonso's emotional return to Anfield ended in defeat as Luis Diaz scored a hat-trick and Liverpool maintained their flawless Champions League record with victory over Bayer Leverkusen.
2024/2025 UEFA Champions League
4-0
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
3' Victor Boniface can't get a clean connection and screws his shot well wide
7' Cody Gakpo's shot is blocked by the defender
14' Salah nudges the ball back into the direction of Jones and his shot is saved
21' A penalty shout for Leverkusen as Frimpong gets the wrong side of Van Dijk
26' Garcia pulls down Salah and sees the yellow card
36' Trent takes the free-kick, but a jumping Leverkusen wall does its job
43' Leverkusen have the ball in the net but Frimpong handled the ball first
54' Jones gets the ball on the edge of the penalty area but only fires over the top
60' Diaz scoops ball over keeper from Jones' great pass! Liverpool 1-0 Leverkusen
64' Salah crosses from the right, Gakpo scores the header! Liverpool 2-0 Leverkusen
72' Mac Allister tries to score into the bottom, but Hradecky does well to save it
83' Salah crosses from right, Diaz slots ball past keeper! Liverpool 3-0 Leverkusen
Match Report
But if there was one man at Anfield last night aside from the 22 players on the pitch that would have spotted the pass was on for Curtis Jones’ exquisite assist, it was the chap in the pristine white trainers crouching in the away technical area, Xabi Alonso.
It was a cushioned punch to split Leverkusen’s well-drilled and stubborn defence open and it looked rather easy. But that is what the best midfielders do – Alonso made a career of it as he won World Cups, Champions Leagues and national titles galore.
And it proved to be the decisive moment between a damp squib and maintaining a 100 per cent record in Europe for Arne Slot’s charges. Jones threaded in Luis Diaz to score with an equally deft finish, dinked over the goalkeeper, and then Cody Gakpo doubled their lead minutes later.
Goals are a bit like waiting for London buses recently for the Reds. Stand around for an age and then two come along at once. Two goals in three minutes to flip the game on its head and win against Brighton on Saturday, the same here to swat away the German champions.
Before that, the contest felt like a charity match – and not just because of the guests in attendance that included Alonso, Rafa Benitez and Luis Garcia. Add BBC’s Stephen Warnock into the mix and it was an Istanbul 2005 reunion. It was a dull affair which lacked jeopardy.
Alonso accidentally timed his entrance from the tunnel awkwardly to coincide with Liverpool fans booing the Champions League anthem – done due to UEFA’s disgraceful handling of supporters at the 2022 final – but the returning Spaniard got a warm reception thereafter.
He spent 30 seconds just staring into the deep red structure of the Kop, looking awestruck still at this ground – completely different to how he will remember it. As per ritual, he touched the ‘This Is Anfield’ sign and shook hands with former team-mate Luis Garcia, now a pundit.
The Leverkusen boss waved to those in the Main Stand, though one suspects his hand was not directed at former boss Rafa Benitez, who was here as a guest in the posh seats. It was a fallout between the two Spaniards which sparked Alonso’s desire to leave in 2009.
But after his pre-match niceties, Alonso looked fully focused on his side’s task ahead. And he patrolled his technical area like a man possessed, clenching his fists and squatting in anxiety, plus furiously waving his arms with instructions.
How this homecoming must have made him wish he could get back on the Anfield turf and dictate the game as he so often did down the years. Instead, he was crouched in a position without direct control on proceedings. His team followed his orders perfectly, though.
Given the love for Alonso, this had exhibition match vibes to it. Well done, UEFA, this is the reward for bloating the calendar so much that matches like these do not have a great deal riding on it, little to no jeopardy. At half-time, it felt like both teams would have shaken hands on a 0-0.
Liverpool had a few half-chances in the opening 45 minutes but Finnish goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky was never asked to make anything other than regulation saves. Curtis Jones, Cody Gakpo and Mo Salah were all guilty of shooting straight at the Leverkusen No 1.
At the other end, former Manchester City and Celtic man Jeremie Frimpong had a goal ruled out for a handball in the build-up, and the same player also had a penalty shout turned down when he went down under Virgil van Dijk’s challenge. He did take the man but it would have been soft.
Fifteen minutes of the second half ticked by without much change and, like on Saturday, the Kop thought they best play their part. Anfield found its voice to drown out the cackles of fireworks populating the night sky and the noise seemed to act as fuel for the home players.
Ryan Gravenberch shimmied away from a couple of challenges and fed Mohamed Salah only for him to fluff his lines and miskick a shot from close range but, with the next attack, Jones took the ball on the half-turn and threaded an eye-of-the-needle pass to Diaz.
The Colombian took a nice touch and then dinked goalkeeper Hradecky. Diaz had been starting the match in an unfamiliar No 9 role and took a while to find his feet but this composed finish was as good as Slot could have asked for.
Minutes later, Salah found space on the right and put a cross on a plate for Gakpo to score his fourth goal in the last week, after three against Brighton – across two games in different competitions.
Diaz put the icing on the cake on 83 minutes with a clever finish after Salah popped up with another assist, and he completed his hat-trick in stoppage time to send Liverpool top of the table again.
Line-ups
Liverpool XI: Salah, Van Dijk, Tsimikas, Kelleher, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Cody Gakpo, Mac Allister, Luis Díaz, Curtis Jones, Gravenberch
Subs: W. Endo, Robertson, Joe Gomez, Szoboszlai, Darwin Núñez, Vitezslav Jaros, Harvey Davies, Jarell Quansah, Conor Bradley, Tyler Morton
Leverkusen XI: Hradecky, Xhaka, Alejandro Grimaldo, Tah, A.García, Exequiel Palacios, Tapsoba, Jeremie Frimpong, Victor Boniface, Piero Hincapié, Florian Wirtz
Subs: Lomb, Hofmann, Robert Andrich, Schick, Nathan Tella, Kovar, Arthur, Francis Onyeka