Liverpool thrashed Rangers but one player endured high drama

At just 19, and after recovering from a dislocated ankle, Harvey Elliott endured a drama with a happy ending to have the first Champions League goal of his career confirmed. In September 2021, the Liverpool youth player suffered one of the biggest blows of his short career at the age of just 18 when he dislocated his ankle in a Premier League match against Leeds United.

The injury meant Elliott was out for six months and struggled from the bottom to regain his place in the team, where he is tipped to be one of the gems of the future. Last 27 August he scored his first Premier League goal (against Bournemouth) and today, after much drama, he scored for the first time in the Champions League. Elliott had to wait almost 3 minutes for the VAR to validate the goal he scored against Rangers, which was under review for a possible offside.

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Such were the youngster's nerves that Mohamed Salah had to reassure him with a hug while he waited for the verdict. Finally, in the 88′ Elliott celebrated his first goal in the Champions League and the seventh for the Reds, who rolled over the Scottish side in a 7-1 final scoreline. Roberto Firmino (24′ and 55′), Darwin Nunez (66′) and Mohamed Salah (75′, 80′ and 81′) completed the rout.

Although not mathematically yet, Liverpool put one foot in the last 16 of the Champions League. Incredibly cruel. Rangers' painful 1-7 defeat at Ibrox Park against a Liverpool side that became a hurricane in the second half. There was nothing the home side could do after a great first half, in which they had Klopp's side on the ropes. Those 45 minutes made them dream... but after the dressing room, the nightmare arrived.

<strong>Salah had to calm Elliot</strong>

Rangers started the game with an intensity that perhaps surprised Jürgen Klopp's side. They went straight out for the ball and even pressed Liverpool's backline, who came into the game on the wrong foot. In fact, the home side had two chances in quick succession that left the visitors with little to think about. The first fifteen minutes were the Scottish side's best.