Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
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Giovanni van Bronckhorst speaks to BT. “It was a very disappointing result. We were playing well in the first half, we were in the game. The second goal, they were so fast in transition and we were caught a couple of times. In the first half we played more directly and created some good chances. The further the game went, the more we kept playing short, and you get the pressure, and those moments we didn’t do well. We had to play more directly to give us the chance to score goals. It was 3-1 after 66 minutes just as we were about to put three new strikers on to get something out of the game, and of course the two injuries didn’t help with the substitutions, and after that it went really quick. We conceded too many easy goals, and the game went really fast after that. We tried to push after the 3-1 but you could see we were struggling because they upped the tempo. We were not accurate with our passing, and that’s why we conceded so many goals.”
Jurgen Klopp talks to BT Sport. “I liked the first half already. It was well played. The reaction was good. In our good spells in the first half we played well between the lines. It would have been pretty exhausting for Rangers to defend us in these moments. And then Darwin, and Mo as well. And Harvey, huh?! A different position for [Salah], more inside. Maybe we have to force him a bit! He is an outstanding player and today he showed that. [Firmino] played an exceptional game. To be honest I didn’t see a lot of players tonight who didn’t play really well. Harvey played super, Fabio played top, both sixes from the beginning really there, the centre-halves top, everybody was spot on. It was a difficult game, and it could have been much more difficult, so I am really pleased. The atmosphere was massive. We played football, and when we played football to our potential, we are a pretty good football team. We have to prove consistency. We know what we have to do [against Manchester City] and we will give it a try.”
Hot managerial chat to come … but in the meantime, David Hytner’s report has landed. Open another tab, don’t leave us yet!
This is the biggest defeat Rangers have ever suffered at Ibrox. “Liverpool should propose another breakaway league, this time comprising themselves, Bournemouth and Rangers,” argues Al O’Neill, who may be onto something.
Virgil van Dijk speaks to BT. “Yeah, that was great. We had to play with composure. Sometimes we didn’t, but in the second half we did it much better. I’ve never played here before, and it was a good night in Glasgow. Rangers had to come, so there was going to be space. [Firmino and Salah] showed the quality we need for the rest of the season. Everyone expected us to win here, but we’re in a tough period and take it game by game. That’s how we will approach the big one on Sunday. [Manchester City] are in fantastic form, but we will prepare well and be ready for Sunday.”
Group A suddenly looks very promising for Liverpool. Napoli have qualified for the knockouts, while Liverpool just need one more point to make sure. Rangers sadly are out. “I’m hurting,” says Ally McCoist on BT Sport, the first-half disco a world away now. “Six goals in the second half, not good, the gulf in class was there for everybody to see. But tomorrow morning, I promise you, I’ll think about ten years ago, going to Elgin and Peterhead, in the Third Division. So to come back in a decade … and I was chuffed to bits with the first-half performance!” Perspective 101. A masterclass.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Napoli | 4 | 13 | 12 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 4 | 6 | 9 |
| 3 | Ajax | 4 | -4 | 3 |
| 4 | Rangers | 4 | -15 | 0 |
FULL TIME: Rangers 1-7 Liverpool
Well that was a game of two halves all right! Rangers were highly decent in the first, Liverpool extremely uncertain of themselves. But how Liverpool responded in the second! Six goals, three of which were scored in six minutes and 12 seconds by Mohamed Salah, the quickest hat-trick in Champions League history. What a performance! What a half-time team-talk Jurgen Klopp must have given! What that might do for Liverpool’s fragile confidence!
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90 min: There will be just one extra minute. The end can’t come soon enough for Rangers.
89 min: A yellow card for Gomez who clips Morelos on the heel.
GOAL! Rangers 1-7 Liverpool (Elliott 88)
Yep! It’s fine! That’s Elliott’s first goal in Europe. Liverpool have been simply outstanding in this second half. Four goals in 11 minutes!
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87 min: Rangers half clear the corner. Thiago slips a pass down the inside-left channel for Salah, who enters the box and rolls across for Jota, who should score, but takes a heavy touch. The ball breaks to Elliott, to his right. Elliott bashes into the bottom left … but the flag goes up for offside. However, VAR will check …
86 min: Jota runs half the length of the pitch and wins a corner down the left. Robertson comes across to take.
84 min: According to BT Sport, that’s the fastest hat-trick in Champions League history.
83 min: Liverpool are as rampant as the lion on the Rangers crest. Elliott dribbles from right to left, across the face of the box. He thinks about shooting but lays off for Salah, who tries to tee up Jota. Rangers bundle the ball away.
GOAL! Rangers 1-6 Liverpool (Salah 81)
It’s six for Liverpool, and a six-minute hat-trick for Salah! Jota feeds Salah again. Salah advances down the inside-right channel, uses Barisic as cover, and curls into the bottom left. Easy as that! Six minutes and 12 seconds that hat-trick took.
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GOAL! Rangers 1-5 Liverpool (Salah 80)
Liverpool are running riot now. Fabinho wins the ball in the midfield. Thiago and Jota shuttle it down the inside-right channel for Salah, who takes a touch to stop the ball on the right-hand corner of the D, dummies, and flicks it into the bottom right having given McGregor the eyes.
78 min: Milner comes on for Konate, who has had a good game at centre half.
76 min: Rangers make a triple change. Matondo, Wright and Morelos replace Sakala, Kent and Colak. There are a lot of Rangers fans heading off for cocktails.
GOAL! Rangers 1-4 Liverpool (Salah 75)
This is such a lovely finish. Jota makes a challenge that balloons to Salah, just inside the Rangers box on the right. He kills the ball with one touch, holds off Barisic, opens his body, and steers across McGregor and into the bottom corner.
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74 min: Elliott tries again, coming in from the right and looking to curl one into the top left at pace. It’s not far away. Had it been on target, McGregor wasn’t stopping it.
73 min: Firmino won’t be getting his hat-trick tonight. Two goals and an outrageous assist will have to do. He makes way for Jota.
72 min: Some good end-to-end fun as Salah shoots straight at McGregor. Sakala counters down the right and crosses low for Colak, but Konate slides in to intercept. Had he not managed to do so, Colak would have been one on one with Alisson. Liverpool go back up the other end, where Elliott scoops a lame shot over the bar.
70 min: Liverpool’s third really has taken the wind out of the Ibrox sail. It’s the away fans making most of the noise now.
68 min: Liverpool make that triple change. Henderson, Tsimikas and Nunez make way for Thiago, Robertson and Salah. Robertson, formerly of The Celtic Football Club, is greeted in the manner you’d imagine. Meanwhile, that' wasn’t a bad final touch for Nunez, who departs with a huge grin on his face. It might not have been an ideal week for Liverpool, but it’s been a very welcome one for him.
GOAL! Rangers 1-3 Liverpool (Nunez 66)
Carvalho rolls a pass down the middle. Firmino, on the edge of the Rangers D, cushions the ball with his heel into the path of Nunez, striding down the inside left. Nunez opens his body and steers elegantly across McGregor and into the bottom right. That’s a lovely finish, and one heck of an assist!
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65 min: Not much going on. Liverpool are preparing a triple sub.
63 min: The referee stops play to give the five Liverpool subs warming up pitchside a bollocking. Seems one or two had strayed out of the technical area.
61 min: Jack’s replacement is finally ready. On comes Steven Davis. Meanwhile Henderson goes down, having taken a whack from Lundstram. It’s a sore one, but he’s up and about again quickly enough.
60 min: Elliott advances on the Rangers box down the right. He slips in Carvalho, who reaches the byline but can’t find a team-mate with his cutback. Liverpool come again, Elliott shooting straight at McGregor. Liverpool have been much better since the break.
58 min: Jack limps off sadly. There’s nobody to take his place yet. Aye ready, you say? Aye right. Rangers down to ten for now.
57 min: Jack goes down holding his left leg. He doesn’t look particularly happy. The physio performs the substitution hand jive. That’s his race run.
GOAL! Rangers 1-2 Liverpool (Firmino 55)
Gomez channels his inner Alexander-Arnold, striding down the right and curling low for Firmino, bending it around King and teeing up the second. Firmino isn’t missing from six yards, and sidefoots into the bottom left. Easy as that! What a pass from Gomez! Trent who?
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54 min: Gomez hooks in from the right. Nunez, romping down the middle, tries to lob McGregor from 40 yards. Nope! But no matter, because …
53 min: Firmino advances down the middle and rolls a pass down the inside-left channel for Nunez, who reaches the edge of the box but gets his feet in a tangle. His shot is no good, and easily blocked by Davies.
52 min: Henderson, Carvalho and Nunez combine crisply down the left, painting triangles at high speed. Nunez romps into the box and wins a corner off Lundstram … although second viewing suggests it should have been a goal kick. Probably for the best, then, that Henderson goes on to take a fresh-air swipe, and Fabinho clumsily clanks out of play to hand back possession to Rangers.
50 min: Tavernier crosses from the right. Kent heads down for Jack, who prepares to shoot from 12 yards, only for Van Dijk to flick the ball away from danger just in time. Nice play all round.
49 min: Elliott is brought to a juddering halt, just to the right of the Rangers D. A free kick in a very dangerous position … but Tsimikas sends it miles over the bar. He has the good grace to look extremely embarrassed.
47 min: A chance for Elliott and Gomez to replicate Brazil’s fourth goal in the 1970 World Cup final. Elliott’s pass to the right isn’t as well weighted as Pele’s was, though, and Gomez’s chance to become the Carlos Alberto de nos jours is gone.
46 min: A few pantomime boos for Virgil van Dijk, formerly of The Celtic Football Club. Of course there are.
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Rangers get the second half underway. No half-time changes.
Half-time entertainment. BT broadcast footage of pundit and Rangers legend Ally McCoist celebrating Scott Arfield’s opener. Can you imagine the bedlam? Double it. “I really did enjoy it,” begins his understated take, as the clip shows him screaming out his lungs and jumping all over Rio Ferdinand like a toddler three packs into a Haribo bender. “That was about ten years of travelling to Berwick and going to Peterhead and everything, and now we’re scoring against Liverpool in the Champions League!” It really shouldn’t matter who you support; it’s extremely hard not to love Super Ally.
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HALF TIME: Rangers 1-1 Liverpool
Rangers have scored their first Champions League goal this season, and could have had one or two more against uncertain opposition. This scoreline doesn’t flatter them at all.
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45 min +2: King, cold to the game, gifts possession to Carvalho, who should release Nunez down the left, but plays a weak pass. Nunez is forced to check his run, then hoicks out for a goal kick when looking to find Elliott with a diagonal pass. That was a real chance for Liverpool.
45 min +1: The first of three added first-half minutes ends with McGregor claiming a harmless Tsimikas left-wing cross.
45 min: Goldson holds his head in his hands as he limps off. He clearly doesn’t want to leave the big match with Rangers playing so well. But he can’t continue. Leon King comes on in his place. “Thank you for making my evening, Scott.” Richard Hirst there with a sentence that isn’t heard too often. “Fulham mentioned in the context of a Champions League game, even if the involvement is only vicarious.”
43 min: Nunez tries to counter, only to be denied by Goldson’s outstretched leg. But at what cost? Looks like the Rangers defender has pulled a muscle. He’s not going to be able to continue.
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42 min: Sakala burns past Tsimikas down the right with ease. He rolls infield for Arfield, who flips a first-time sidefoot goalwards. Konate’s block is excellent. Rangers so close to regaining the lead!
41 min: Kent dribbles down the left, shoots, and wins a corner. Nothing comes of that, but Rangers are finishing the half strongly.
40 min: Now it’s Carvalho’s turn to ship possession, as Lundstram takes the ball off his toe and creams a pass down the right for Colak, who has Kent free in the middle, but can only batter the ball out of play on the left. Once again the Liverpool back line was seriously exposed.
38 min: Gomez sends a careless crossfield pass straight to Jack, who is about to advance on the Liverpool box when Carvalho arrives out of nowhere, nicking the ball away. Carvalho getting his team-mate out of trouble there, and it’s not the first time Gomez has played a slack pass tonight.
36 min: Sakala takes on Tsimikas down the right. He’s about to scoot past on the outside when Tsimikas changes codes and wrestles him off the pitch. Just a free kick – that comes to nothing – but it should have been a yellow.
34 min: Liverpool don’t deal with the corner particularly well. It’s half cleared, but Rangers come again down the right, Lundstram reaching the byline and cutting back to … nobody in blue. Shame for Rangers, because there was a lot of space in which a striker could have created havoc. Henderson eventually arrives and bashes clear. Some alarming gaps opening up in the Liverpool defence tonight.
33 min: Some space down the right for Jack, who whips a long cross towards Kent. Gomez is the only man back, and forced to smash the ball out for a corner. Kent to take.
32 min: Gone scrappy again.
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30 min: That equaliser has an added benefit for Liverpool, in that Ibrox is signally quieter as a result. The visitors are growing in confidence after that early shock.
28 min: Elliott nearly releases his erstwhile Fulham pal Carvalho down the middle, but McGregor reads the danger well and comes to the edge of his box to claim.
26 min: Tavernier once again ships possession cheaply, allowing Firmino to intercept and romp into the Rangers half. Firmino tries to release Nunez down the inside-left channel, but the pass is weak and Goldson is able to slide in and clear. He also catches Nunez above the ankle with his studs and … well, you’ve seen players sent packing for less. But neither referee nor VAR is interested. Nunez certainly felt it, though he’s back up again soon enough.
GOAL! Rangers 1-1 Liverpool (Firmino 24)
Tavernier gifts the ball to Fabinho when playing out from the back. Carvalho takes another whack. It’s deflected out for a corner. Tsimikas whips in from the right. Firmino rises above Tavernier at the near post, and flicks a close-range header into the top right. Easy as that.
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22 min: Carvalho drifts in from the left and sends a low shot wide right. It’s not much, but it’s something for Liverpool to build on.
20 min: Liverpool are rattled here. Gomez plays a blind backpass from the Rangers left touchline, and only finds Colak, who knocks the ball past Alisson … but can’t round the keeper to finish the job, and there’s nobody else in the middle. Konate comes across to clear up. “This is Arfield,” quips Peter Oh, tapping an imaginary sign above his head.
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19 min: On the touchline, Jurgen Klopp smacks his lips in frustration. Yet again, his side fall behind early on. This is becoming a serious problem for Liverpool, who haven’t really got going yet. Rangers certainly have.
GOAL! Rangers 1-0 Liverpool (Arfield 17)
Rangers have their first goal in this year’s Champions League … and Liverpool concede first yet again! Colak cuts in from the right. He lays off to Jack, who rolls a pass down the middle that splits the Liverpool defence. Arfield strides into the space, takes a touch, and threads into the bottom left. Ibrox erupts!
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16 min: Barisic hoicks in from the left. Too strong. Jack picks up possession on the right and hooks back into the centre. Alisson plucks from the sky. Rangers are showing so much more attacking intent tonight. And why not? Nothing but a win will do.
15 min: Barisic launches long down the left for Kent, who tries to turn and make good for the box, but is stopped in his tracks by Alexander-Arnold stand-in Gomez.
13 min: Elliott dribbles ferociously down the middle, then shovels a pass down the inside-right channel and into the box for Nunez, who should shoot, but tries to find Firmino in the middle instead. Goldson hacks clear, then the flag goes up for offside … though had either Nunez or Firmino scored, VAR might have had some work to do. It was a close one.
12 min: It’s all a bit scrappy, to tell the truth. Passing sequences come with a premium right now.
10 min: Nunez bumps into Goldson. A garden variety foul that nearly leads to a minor brouhaha between Fabinho and Tavernier, both of whom having plenty to say. It all calms down quickly enough.
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8 min: Rangers aren’t giving Liverpool an inch. The press is on. “Forget about the glasses,” writes Jeff Sachs. “Klopp should get his bags ready.” Ouch, tough crowd in tonight. The Empire has nothing on this.
6 min: Tsimikas curls in from the left. His cross is too high for Nunez, six yards out. Had it been a few inches lower, Rangers were in bother.
5 min: Kent, formerly of Anfield, cuts in from the left and looks to curl one into the top right. It’s a decent effort, not too far away, though Alisson probably had it covered. Rangers will be happy enough with their lively start.
4 min: Lundstram finds Sakala with a glorious diagonal pass out right. Sakala drops a shoulder to get past Tsimikas and into the Liverpool box, but his eventual shot is tame and dribbles through to Alisson.
3 min: Konate comes clattering into Jack, getting both ball and man. Ibrox wants a yellow card; it’s only a quiet word with the referee.
2 min: Liverpool pass it around the back as they find their feet early doors. This is their first competitive fixture at this famous stadium. “I’m wondering if Klopp has considered going back to his glasses?” wonders Brendan Large, apropos Liverpool’s recent travails. “Of course they got to the brink of the quadruple without them, but only won the least important ones. I bet Trent would love to be playing like it was the last time Klopp had glasses.”
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Liverpool get the ball rolling. There is one hell of an atmosphere at Ibrox, its denizens having become accustomed to soundtracking big European nights of late. They’ve certainly found their voice again tonight.
The teams are out! Ibrox roars as one when the players emerge from the tunnel. Rangers sport their royal blue, while Liverpool wear red. Always lovely when both teams are dressed in their finest. Fireworks light up the sky. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes, once Uefa have given a nod in the direction of Zadok the Priest.
Jurgen Klopp speaks to BT Sport. “It is a busy period and we cannot force the boys through, we have to make changes. Diogo Jota was not planned, that’s why he was in yesterday’s press conference, but we got a call from the medical department saying he can play, but not too long. Oh great! So we’d better start somebody else who can play 90 minutes. But he is on the bench and is available.”
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Giovanni van Bronckhorst talks to BT. “There is only one change. The team is doing well in the league. Today we have to start right, and try to attack them. We have had great experiences in Europe this season and last season, and the atmosphere can be really good. But it’s only good when you perform as well on the pitch.”
Full time in Naples: Napoli 4-2 Ajax
Napoli have qualified for the knockout stage with two Group A games to play. Luciano Spalletti’s box-fresh side have announced themselves in style, and look more than capable of winning Europe’s biggest prize for the first time. A long way to go, of course, but the excitement around them is palpable.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Napoli | 4 | 13 | 12 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | Ajax | 4 | -4 | 3 |
| 4 | Rangers | 3 | -9 | 0 |
Ajax had been pressing for an equaliser … but a huge Daley Blind clanger has just secured the win for Napoli. Blind hesitated over a backpass, allowing Victor Osimhen to appear from nowhere, take the ball off his toe, and roll it into the empty net, Remko Pasveer stationed elsewhere, waiting for the pass that never came. Latest score: Napoli 4-2 Ajax.
It’s now Napoli 3-2 Ajax. Steven Bergwijn whips home a penalty after 83 minutes. It was a pretty soft award, Brian Brobbey backing into Juan Jesus and crumpling, the referee generously pointing to the spot. But VAR didn’t see enough to overturn the decision, and the four-time winners are back in it!
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The other game in Group A kicked off early … and everybody’s new second-favourite team, Napoli, have just gone 3-1 up at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona against Ajax. Hirving Lozano opened the scoring for the Italians on four minutes, Giacomo Raspadori adding a second 12 minutes later. Davy Klaassen pulled one back for Ajax four minutes after the break, but the sensational Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has restored Napoli’s two-goal cushion by roofing a penalty. Latest score: Napoli 3-1 Ajax.
Team news: Colak starts, Salah benched
Just one change to the Rangers starting XI from the 4-0 win against St Mirren. Ryan Kent replaces Rabbi Matondo, who drops to the bench. Antonio Colak, who has 13 goals to his name this season already, leads the line. Fashion Sakala, a troublesome presence for Liverpool at Anfield last week, is tasked with providing Colak the ammo.
Liverpool make six changes to the team named for the 3-2 defeat at Arsenal. Mohamed Salah, Thiago and Diogo Jota are all benched, while Luis Diaz, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joel Matip are injured. Stepping into a youthful team: Harvey Elliott, Fabio Carvalho, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino.
The teams
Rangers: McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Davies, Barisic, Jack, Lundstram, Sakala, Arfield, Kent, Colak.
Subs: Yilmaz, Davis, Matondo, Sands, Morelos, Scott Wright, McCrorie, McLaughlin, King, Devine, Tillman.
Liverpool: Alisson, Gomez, Konate, van Dijk, Tsimikas, Henderson, Fabinho, Elliott, Firmino, Nunez, Carvalho.
Subs: Thiago, Milner, Salah, Adrian, Jota, Robertson, Bajcetic, Phillips, Kelleher.
Referee: Slavko Vincic (Slovenia).
Preamble
A week ago this happened …
… and now Rangers are on the brink of an early exit from the Champions League. Nothing but a victory for the Light Blues tonight can save them. Liverpool meanwhile are looking for a win that would nudge them closer to the knockout phase. Kick off is at 8pm BST. It’s on!
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Napoli | 3 | 11 | 9 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | Ajax | 3 | -2 | 3 |
| 4 | Rangers | 3 | -9 | 0 |
