Girona 0 – 1 Liverpool – The CL Postmortem

The atmosphere at the Estadi Montilivi was excitable and expectant in the build-up to this hotly anticipated moment, as European royalty arrived to face off against last season’s surprise package, Girona. With an attendance peaking at 14,628, this type of encounter is a huge statement of growth from the Catalan club, as they navigate their way through the most elite of footballing tournaments for the first time in their history.

Below is how the team lined up, with match details following.

The Starting Eleven

GK – Caoimhin Kelleher

RB – Jarell Quansah

RCB – Joe Gomez

LCB – Virgil van Dijk (c)

LB – Andy Robertson

CM – Dominik Szoboszlai

ACM – Curtis Jones

CM – Ryan Gravenberch

RF – Mohamed Salah

CF – Darwin Núñez

LF – Luis Díaz

Subs

Cody Gakpo – Luis Díaz (71 mins)

Harvey Elliott – Curtis Jones (76 mins)

Wataru Endō – Player (88 mins)

Goals (Assisted by)

Girona 0 – 1 Liverpool

Mohamed Salah (Penalty) – 63 mins

Important Match Stats

Possession

Girona 37% – 63% Liverpool

XG

Girona 1.02 – 1.89 Liverpool

Total Shots

Girona 13 – 15 Liverpool

Corner Kicks

Girona 5 – 8 Liverpool

Off Sides

Girona 3 – 1 Liverpool

Fouls

Girona 11 – 8 Liverpool

Goalkeeper Saves

Girona 6 – 5 Liverpool

The First Half

The opening period of the game saw the Reds nearly gift their longest serving first team player, Joe Gomez, with the opening goal of his Liverpool career. Andy Robertson delivered a perfect cross into the edge of the six-yard box, which the former Charlton man met with a powerful header. That attempt was parried over the bar and the scores remained level.

The infectious efforts of the Uruguayan striker, Darwin Núñez, began with a powerful shot straight at the Girona keeper, Paulo Gazzaniga, which was pushed wide of the near post. Moments later and as the game began to swing from end to end, a low cross from Miguel Gutiérrez travelled across the face of Alisson Beckers’s goal, with the perfectly positioned Arnaut Danjuma unable to make the telling connection. That opportunity to score carried onto the winger on loan from Tottenham, Bryan Gil, who saw his efforts smothered by Arne Slot’s Brazilian keeper.

It would be moments later when the Egyptian King, Mohamed Salah, would lead the charge on the counterattack, which ended with a tame effort across the Girona goal. Yáser Asprilla would then have a rasping long-range effort very well saved by Liverpool’s number one,

The half ended with Liverpool and their hosts locked at 0-0 and all to play for.

The Second Half

At the start of the second half, the away side made no changes, as the Liverpool head coach sent out the same eleven players who had started against the Spanish club.

Almost immediately after the restart, the former Bournemouth forward, Arnaut Danjuma, had a brilliant chance to give his club the lead, only for the world’s greatest keeper, Alisson, to repel his well-struck shot.

Following a scramble in the penalty box at the opposite end of the pitch, an Andy Robertson shot was saved at the near post, however, that moment became redundant as the Colombian flyer, Luis Díaz, had been fouled in the build-up. After a thorough VAR check, eventually the penalty was awarded and Mohamed Salah was able to expertly score from the spot.

This slender lead allowed the substitutes to begin to filter into the game, as the veteran European visitors were able to slow the game down and manage the remainder of the contest. It would be Trent Alexander Arnold who had the best chance later on, as his superb long-range free kick was saved smartly.

The game ended with Liverpool securing six wins from six games played, creating a five-point lead at the top of the Champions League table.

What Are My Final Thoughts…?

This contest was made a lot easier by the postponed Merseyside Derby at the weekend, as the first-team elite were able to gain valuable momentum before the visit of Fulham on Saturday. All attention must now be geared towards that huge game, however, this win against Girona once again showed the continuing capabilities of Arne Slot and his ability to navigate through this hectic elite-level schedule. From a player perspective, the return of Alisson Becker was an enormous boost to the season, as he was the best player on the pitch and reminded us all of his undoubted importance.

Steven Smith’s Score Prediction;

Girona 1 – 4 Liverpool