The UEFA Champions League returned on Tuesday night after the international break and it was an enthralling night.
Liverpool cruised to a confidence-building victory in the Champions League as Rangers were comfortably dismissed at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have struggled for form this season but a disappointing Scottish team represented the perfect opposition to return to winning ways as Liverpool moved closer to a place in the knockout phase.
Rangers’ fans travelled to Merseyside in their thousands and backed their side noisily throughout an embarrassingly one-sided encounter which Liverpool should have won far more emphatically.
Trent Alexander-Arnold put Liverpool ahead after only seven minutes when he clipped a perfect 25-yard free-kick into the top corner and only veteran keeper Allan McGregor kept the Rangers in range with a succession of saves, frustrating Darwin Nunez in particular.
Liverpool finally got the second goal they deserved eight minutes after the break when Mohamed Salah scored from the penalty spot after Leon King fouled Luis Diaz.
Rangers, who have not won a point from three games in Group A, had a late chance when Kostas Tsimikas cleared off the line from Rabbi Matondo but they were outclassed by a Liverpool side who did not need to hit top gear to win.
In Germany, Antonio Conte disclosed that he was pleased to see his side creating chances against Eintracht Frankfurt but accepts they need to become more clinical after they were held to a goalless draw in the Champions League Group D game.
The visitors, looking to respond after losing to Premier League rivals Arsenal at the weekend, put in a largely encouraging display but were let down by poor finishing.
Harry Kane was agonisingly close to turning in a Son Heung-min cross before swiping a shot wide in the first half, while Ivan Perisic saw a deflected strike go just wide of the far post before the break.
But the hosts also had chances, with Hugo Lloris needing to produce a smart save to deny Ansgar Knauff’s volley from close range and Jesper Lindstrom drove over from a good position.
In the game between Inter Milan and Barcelona in Italy, Xavi said his Barcelona side suffered “a real injustice” after a 1-0 loss at Inter Milan left them in danger of a second successive group-stage elimination in the Champions League.
Hakan Calhanoglu’s strike in first-half stoppage time gave Inter victory.
Barca thought they had rescued a point when Pedri scored in the second half, but it was ruled out by the video assistant referee for an Ansu Fati handball.
The defeat leaves Barcelona third in Group C, three points behind Inter.
Meanwhile, Napoli came from a goal behind to demolish Ajax in the Champions League and continue their sensational start to the season.
Mohammed Kudus gave the Dutch side an early lead but Giacomo Raspadori headed in an equaliser, Giovanni di Lorenzo put Napoli ahead and Piotr Zielinski made it 3-1 just before the break.
Raspadori curled in his second and then set up Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to score.
Ajax’s Dusan Tadic was sent off before Giovanni Simeone netted a sixth.
Napoli, who had a squad rebuild in the summer as youngsters replaced several veterans, are unbeaten in all competitions this season.
In other games, Club Bruges took a big step towards a place in the Champions League knockout stages as they beat Atletico Madrid to claim nine points from three games. Ferran Jutgla beat several Atletico defenders before finding Kamal Sowah for a simple finish. Jutgla doubled their lead with a side-footed finish from Tajon Buchanan’s ball.
Bayern Munich continued their perfect start to their Group C clash with a routine win over Czech side Viktoria Plzen.
Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry and Sadio Mane all scored within the first 21 minutes to ease the Bundesliga champions to victory. Sane made it four just after half-time before Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting completed the rout. The win leaves Bayern with a maximum of nine points from their opening games.
