Jurgen Klopp may have broken with his new-found custom of watching football games with his feet up in a sunny spot, a bottle of beer in hand, and no worries in the world for the first time in six months.
He met with his new charges and his old club, a team that will always hold a special place in his heart. There is a great deal of distaste in Germany for Klopp, who will shortly take over as Red Bull’s head of global football and hence influence strategy at teams like RB Leipzig and RB Salzburg.
In keeping with the Red Bull motif, one imagines that this intensely contested, high-octane duel would have at least roused the senses. He would hardly have been pacing up and down in his living room gesticulating like his famous touchline antics at Anfield.
He will return here in January, hoping Leipzig, who weren’t even a club when Liverpool won their fifth of six European Cups in 2005, can make a serious run for the Bundesliga title. A football addict can’t be away for long.
They fought hard, making this a difficult test for Arne Slot and company, but Liverpool finally beat them with a resounding victory after Darwin Nunez’s goal in the first half made it 11 victories out of 12 for the season. Red Bull provides you with wings and other benefits.
Darwin Nunez scored his second goal of the season to give Liverpool the lead against RB Leipzig
With the victory over the joint Bundesliga leaders, the Reds kept up their undefeated start to the competition.
That means the Dutchman is the first manager in Liverpool history to win 11 of his first 12 – bettering Sir Kenny Dalglish’s start – which is not bad considering Slot sent a warning to the Reds’ title rivals on the eve of the game by saying they had seen nothing yet.
On Tuesday, he stated, “Performances are not there yet.” Given how brilliantly Liverpool has begun the season, Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta must have found that to be worrying reading. In the post-Klopp era, are any fans still worried about a decline in form?
Because so many outstanding teams have worn this uniform and so many outstanding managers have worked for the club, we should be pleased, Slot added. Therefore, it is nearly impossible and always pleasant to accomplish something that has never been done before.
“But, you understand what I mean when I say that there is something much nicer than records: trophies.”
Although Nunez, Cody Gakpo, and Virgil van Dijk all came within inches of adding goals, this performance was far from flawless. Peter Gulacsi, who played for Hull and Liverpool’s academy, among other teams, put on a brilliant display to limit the score.
This visit to Leipzig, a picturesque city with a strong Eastern Bloc feel, may have been Slot’s most difficult test as Liverpool manager to date. In the German Bundesliga, Marco Rose’s club is undefeated and trailing leaders Bayern Munich just on goal differential.
They had several early opportunities and got off to a strong start as well. Lois Openda nearly charged through on goal only to be stumped by tough defending from Ibrahima Konate – once of this parish with four seasons at Leipzig – then Amadou Haidara saw a powerful shot saved.
Minutes later, Caoimhin Kelleher almost gave Leipzig the lead, which would have thrilled goalie blooper reel producers. The Irishman charged off his line, misjudged the bounce of the ball and his attempted headed clearance was weak and did not clear the danger.
Benjamin Sesko, the highly-rated Slovenian forward who was tipped as ‘one to watch’ in the European Championship this summer only to flop, saw a curling effort from a tight angle fly just wide. A lucky Kelleher, in no man’s land at this point, could only puff out his cheeks in relief.
Lois Openda thought he had opened the scoring for the home side but his brilliant effort was disallowed for offside
Since Bill Shankly, Arne Slot has been the manager of Liverpool to win their first three European Cup games.Nunez needed some luck in front of goal because he had only scored one goal for the Reds since April and had been criticized by some commentators for his poor finishing. With one of the simplest goals he will ever score, he tapped home to open the scoring on 27 minutes.Mohamed Salah headed the enticing cross from Kostas Tsimikas back across goal with a postage stamp for the bottom corner. Nunez may have bundled in at the back post to steal Salah’s thunder and tap home, saying, “Sorry, Mo, but I’ll have this one, mate.”Salah’s sly expression conveyed a lack of animosity. Salah is no longer preoccupied with being the star player; in fact, Sadio Mane famously accused him of being self-centered in front of the goal. The Egyptian is now content to be the creator in chief as well.Leipzig had a great start, but they faltered following Liverpool’s first goal, and the away team had a chance to double their lead before halftime. After Nunez stretched Gulacsi at full stretch, the goalie deflected a header from Virgil van Dijk into the crossbar.Card-happy Nunez was taken down by Willi Orban in the six-yard area, but Swiss referee Sandro Scharer perplexingly denied what appeared to be a stone-wall penalty. The Uruguayan’s knees were obviously touched, and he sat on the ground in shock when his cries went unanswered.Gakpo had two excellent chances to score a brace. Dominik Szoboszlai first put him through on goal with a lovely, deceptive pass, but the Dutchman’s shot went into the side netting. He was then stopped at close range by Gulacsi. The bar was also targeted by Alexis Mac Allister. 
The visitors felt they should have had a penalty when Nunez was felled by Leipzig skipper Willi Orban.
Peter Gulacsi, a former Reds goalie, makes a string of clutch saves to keep Leipzig in the game.
Sesko surged through on goal near the end, but Kelleher made a fantastic close-range save to save Liverpool from regretting their mistakes. A strong defensive effort at the end to maintain a seventh clean sheet in 12 games after a strong offensive performance early on.
Liverpool was fortunate when Openda ran through on goal but fluffed his lines in injury time, but it felt like they were holding on by a thread at the end as a number of passes went wrong and they lost their way in Leipzig’s constant pressure.
Slot went on to say, “I think we didn’t start the game very well, but I liked a lot of what I saw after the first 15 minutes.” It’s unfortunate that you need your goalie and two center-backs to play important roles at the end of a game like that. After sixty to seventy minutes, we should have won a game like that.
Slot told Curtis Jones to take the ball into the corner to run down the clock because even the cool-headed Dutchman must have been gripped with fear. Nevertheless, his team held on to maintain their perfect record in Europe.
Returning to Klopp, he will be thrilled with Liverpool’s development and impressed by his new friends in Saxony. His former assistant, Pep Lijnders, told Mail Sport this week that their greatest goal was to leave the club on a high note rather than remain too long and let it deteriorate.
Last weekend, supporters of his first team, Mainz, displayed banners that read, “Have you forgotten everything we gave you?” and “Bekloppt,” which means “are you crazy?” By joining the Red Bull empire, he has been accused of selling his soul here.
Those banners and protests from Borussia Dortmund, who despise Leipzig more than even Bayern, will have stung him, but his decision was expected given his history of relationships with Red Bull’s top executives.
Openda was again disappointed late on when his finish at the back post was ruled out for offside
Marco Rose’s side are still in search of their first point in the Champions League this season.
With six consecutive away victories for the first time this season, Liverpool has now won 11 of their first 12 games.However, he might have recovered enough to enjoy a close, interesting match by the end of this one. People at Liverpool adore him for the condition he left the team in, even though most of Germany has turned against him for choosing to join the contentious team.Slot can be added to that list, but that doesn’t diminish the excellent work the 46-year-old has been doing since moving from Feyenoord this summer. He is adjusting to Klopp’s role quite well, going three games without a loss in the Champions League and leading the Premier League.