Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah scored one goal before grabbing his 49th Champions League finish in a 2-0 win over Italian side Bologna at Anfield on Wednesday, leaving Arne Slot’s team perfect with their second win in the competition.

An exciting atmosphere greeted Slot and his players in their first match at Anfield in Europe’s top competition after a year’s absence. Slot’s men had defeated AC Milan 3-1 in their opener and Liverpool did not disappoint. Alexis Mac Allister scored in the eleventh minute, tapping in Salah’s sharp cross from close range.

However, Bologna made it a game and there was some relief around Anfield when Salah fired home the winner in the 75th minute.

“(Salah) is a player who helps us a lot. Sometimes it seems like he is not in the game, but suddenly he has a perfect touch on the ball, he puts the ball in the top corner. That is his quality, also his strength,” said Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson. said. “We’re happy to have him.”

Mac Allister’s first goal of the season came less than two minutes after Bologna’s Thijs Dallinga pushed the ball past Alisson, but his effort was ruled out for offside.

Liverpool were denied a second goal in the 17th minute of an entertaining evening when Darwin Núñez sprinted onto a pass before calmly firing past Lukasz Skorupski, but the Uruguayan was flagged for offside.

After narrowly missing a number of scoring opportunities, Reds talisman Salah finally connected, hitting the ball past Juan Miranda before curling a rocket into the top corner.

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Moments before his goal, 32-year-old Salah shot just wide while holding his head in frustration.

While Liverpool dominated for much of the evening, Bologna were not without chances, with twelve shots to Liverpool’s nine. Dan Ndoye hit the post in the first half and seconds later Alisson had to dive to stop Kacper Urbanski’s shot.

“You know very well how difficult it is, especially for guys who are experiencing such stages for the first time,” said Bologna manager Vincenzo Italiano. “Once they got over the initial excitement, we played with courage.

“The boys are starting to adapt to these rhythms and they have put in a great performance.”

The win moved Liverpool up to fifth place in the new 36-team competition stage, with the top eight teams automatically qualifying for the last 16. Bologna are 26th with a point after they started with a 0-0 draw against Shakhtar Donetsk.

It was Slot’s eighth win in nine games in all competitions since replacing Jurgen Klopp. They currently sit at the top of the Premier League, one point ahead of Manchester City and Arsenal.

“Obviously we’re in a transition, we’re happy with the ideas, we’re trying to get there,” Mac Allister said of his new boss. “There is room for improvement, that’s why we work very hard every day.”

Liverpool – six-time Champions League winners, most recently in 2019 – will look to maintain their perfect record when they play RB Leipzig on October 23, while Bologna visit Aston Villa on October 22.