Still, Liverpool was perhaps too relaxed chasing a second goal, and Bologna dominated in a five-minute spell. Bologna’s Switzerland winger Dan Ndoye hit the crossbar and a post with shots, and Allison was at full stretch to dive and push away Kacper Urbański’s shot after Ndoye stole the ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Anfield had waited over a year and a half for the return of Uefa’s top competition and Liverpool’s first home game in the Champions League since the end of February 2023 didn’t disappoint the home support.

Mohamed Salah — creator of the opener — made it 2-0 in the second half with a wonderful finish, a scoreline that means Slot is the first Liverpool manager to ever record eight wins from his first nine games in charge. Gregg Evans and James Horncastle analyse the talking points from the game.