Mohamed Salah shows his delight after converting the winning penalty.Photograph: Albert Gea/Reuters
Liverpool’s perfect Champions League campaign continued with a sixth win and a fifth clean sheet, Arne Slot’s side having now not conceded since the third minute of the opening night. They also have their goalkeeper back, and on a cold night at Montilivi those things were related. Mohamed Salah’s penalty secured a 1-0 win against Girona, but this was as much about Alisson Becker who made five saves on his return to virtually secure a place in the last 16 two matches early.
If the record is perfect, the performance was not. In the end, though, it was enough: businesslike and maybe a bit bureaucratic. The penalty that won it certainly was, handed to them by the video assistant referee. When Girona threatened, the Brazilian helped to hold them at bay. And then, not for the first time, they secured the win in the second half, allowing them to stay top of the table and almost certainly to skip a round, that extra rest something Slot had said would be welcome.
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For Girona, meanwhile, their first Champions League campaign is almost over. This competition came unexpectedly and early too, perhaps too early. They were La Liga’s great revelation last season but, as with so many teams that overachieve, in the summer they saw players leave – the departures of Artem Dovbyk and Aleix García were particularly damaging – and injuries have slowed the rebuild. Nor were they entirely ready for this competition: the original idea of playing at Espanyol, 99km away, did not come to fruition and Montilivi’s scaffolding stands are closed by Uefa, bringing capacity down to under 10,000.
Nor has it filled so far, that dream a little different to the way they imagined it, the visitors – Slovan Bratislava and Feyenoord – arguably a little underwhelming. Despite that relatively kind fixture list in footballing terms, the results have been poor too, Girona coming into this match in 30th place with a single win. Liverpool, Milan and Arsenal didn’t invite optimism. “It’s ideal but it’s not impossible,” Oriol Romeu said. Liverpool’s arrival did, though, invite a sense of occasion; they were the club that the coach, Michel, most wanted to face, and so too the fans. “This is a big night,” the club’s president said.
The best way to do it was to compete. For the first half, at least, they did. And that’s where they found Alisson in the way. “So pleased to be back,” the goalkeeper had said as he boarded the plane. His teammates were pleased too.
His was the second touch of the game, the kick off sent his way to allow him to familiarise himself with the ball once more, and his would be the most decisive of the first half too. They were 11 minutes in when he made the first of four saves in the opening period. It had begun with Bryan Gil dashing through the middle and spreading the ball to the left for Miguel Gutiérrez. His cross escaped its initial target, Daley Blind, but it came to Ladislav Krejci, whose side-footed effort was stopped by the goalkeeper.
That was the first time that Girona had crossed the halfway line and Liverpool had already seen a headed opportunity for Joe Gomez turned away by Paulo Gazzaniga, and it seemed to awaken something in them. Liverpool had moved the ball about comfortably, maybe even a little bureaucratically, now they were made aware that they were in a game. Girona had seen ways out and ways to hurt the visitors too. A moment later, Gil was in behind, all alone. Liverpool seemed surprised that the flag had not gone up; even more unexpected was that Gil would slip over inside the area. From the floor, he did manage to scramble a shot away, but Alisson saved.
The noise level rose; Girona had arrived. Another shot came, hit by Gutiérrez. Alisson flung out an arm to push that away and Gil sent the follow up over the bar.
This was opening up now. Liverpool still had more of the ball, it was true, and there were opportunities for them, Darwin Núñez heading one just wide. But the approach was working for Girona. Ryan Gravenberch and Andy Robertson blocked successive shots from Arnaut Danjuma and Alejandro Francés before Alisson then caught a cross and set Liverpool racing away, Salah leading the charge and the move ending with Núñez heading a long, deflected and looping cross into his own feet. The Uruguayan was then slipped in by Salah’s angled ball. Gazzaniga saved with his right foot. That this was still 0-0 owed much to the two keepers.
Alisson closed the first half with a fourth save, diving to deny Yáser Asprilla, and opening the second half with a fifth, from Danjuma this time.
This was different now. Liverpool took control of the game, or at least of the ball. Yet if Girona were pushed deeper towards their own area, they seemed comfortable enough holding their opponents at that point. With little space to run into, Liverpool struggled to find a way through. Girona formed a wall that stood firm, the ball was moved from side to side across the front of the area and back again but most moves ended with low crosses to no real destination, easily headed away. When a little gap did open, Gazzaniga saved from Robertson.
And then it happened. Another ball in, low again, came to Luis Díaz, who went down under challenge from Donny van de Beek. There did not appear to be much in it and there were no real appeals, but the Colombian stayed down and, with Liverpool preparing to take a corner, Benoît Bastien, a finger in his ear, signalled for them to pause. Eventually, he was called to the VAR screen to have a look. There still wasn’t very much to see, Van de Beek behind Díaz though the contact light, but he had seen enough.
The Colombian’s boot, taken off in the challenge, provided sufficient evidence. Three Champions League penalties had been missed here this season but Salah was not going the way of Bojan Miovski, Cristhian Stuani, and Ayase Ueda, scoring his 16th of the season; of Liverpool’s last 23 goals it was the 20th scored in the second half and it was done.