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Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images
After the Reds go joint top of the Champions League table, we dig into some of the winners and losers on the night.
Liverpool make it three wins from three in Europe and 10 wins from 11 on the season overall, as they deservedly bring all three points from from Germany after a game that should have seen more goals scored at both ends.
The hosts began the match on the front foot, pressing aggressively and forcing errors from the Reds, but the visitors grew into the contest as the first half went on, and by the time the whistle went for the end of the first frame, the Red Bulls could count themselves fortunate to only be down by a single goal.
Liverpool remained in control to start the second half, but began to lose their legs as the game wore on and a late rally by the hosts — and failure to capitalise at the other end — could have easily seen spoils shared when all was said and done.
After that, then, we provide a quick word on the winners and losers on the night.
Winners
The Heir: After an unbelievably impressive debut season and being named in the first starting XI of the year, the discourse was heating up around Jarell Quansah being the heir apparent to captain and legend Virgil van Dijk. 45 minutes into that first match, though, Quansah was — rightly — deemed to have lost too many duels and replaced by Ibrahima Konaté, who has been outstanding since.
Having featured as emergency captain for France during the international break, the 25-year has been bursting with quiet confidence since his return, and tonight he put up a lights out performance, leading every other player on either team in both interceptions and clearances.
The former RB Leipzig player has struggled with injuries in the past, but if he can continue to perform at his current level and stay healthy, there is no reason to think he’s not a candidate to be the first name on the team sheet and himself be the heir to the club’s Dutch captain.
Peter Galaxy: He may not have featured for the senior team a single time in the six years he spent at Liverpool, but Peter Gulacsi showed that he possesses the quality to, on his night, star for just about any team on the planet. The Hungarian single-handedly kept Leipzig in the game during the latter portions of the first half, as he denied goalbound headers from Darwin Núñez and Virgil van Dijk, before keeping Cody Gakpo off the score sheet twice in the second half.
If the hosts had gotten anything from this game, and they weren’t far off, in the end, there is only really one man they would have had to thank for it.
Kelleher: At the other end of the pitch, Caoimhin Kelleher also put in a tremendous shift, making six saves, including a backtracking diving effort on a deflected shot from range that looked certain to dip into the far corner. A godawful mess of a header that gave Benjamin Sesko the opportunity to hit an open goal from long range early in the first half means a Man of the Match award is out of reach, but otherwise it was exactly the kind of performance Reds fans will be hoping he can produce every week, as they wait for Alisson Becker to return from injury.
Losers
Offpenda: If you think Darwin Núñez gets caught offside a lot — zero times today, for the record — you should consider looking into Loïs Openda. The Belgian striker had a busy game, putting in a hard-working shift on both sides of the ball, but simply could not stay onside, getting caught by the Reds backline four times, two of which ended in goals that were immediately chalked off. Just tremendously frustrating stuff for everyone, including himself, the fans, and the defenders that have to chase and fight over a situation that could simply have been flagged dead 12 seconds ago for the obvious infraction.
Nads: Alexis took an absolutely righteous shot to the nether regions that the next generation of Mac Allisters is gonna feel in the morning. Ouch.
What Happens Next
The run of difficult fixtures continues, as Liverpool travel to London to take a struggling but still dangerous Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday, before taking the trip south to visit Brighton in the round of 16 of the EFL Cup next Wednesday, as they look to continue their unexpected assault on everything silver.
