Liverpool stopped the rot by beating Napoli 2-0 in their Champions League fixture at Anfield on Tuesday night
Mohammed Salah opened the scoring for Liverpool in the first 85th minute of the game on Tuesday evening
Liverpool star Darwin Nunez, 23, added to their tally in the eight minute of stoppage time to secure the win
Napoli did manage to score in the 52nd minute but their goal was disallowed after VAR ruled Ostigard offside
It is said VAR is a joy-killer but you would have had to search far and wide at Anfield to find anyone to agree with that view.
As the happy masses departed, looking forward to 2023 and the prospect, potentially, of a glamour last-16 showdown with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain, nobody from within Liverpool's camp had reason to quibble with computer graphics or fastidious delays.
How could they? VAR's intervention, for Liverpool, was transformative. It enabled them to clamber off the floor in the 52nd minute and left fans bouncing in the aisles way past 10pm, as Jurgen Klopp's team became the first to inflict defeat this season on Napoli.
Even the most mundane evenings at Anfield can unexpectedly turn dramatic and there was history here, too, as Mohamed Salah joined Steven Gerrard as Liverpool's leading scorer in Europe, his 41st goal in the 85th minute breaking the deadlock and giving his side the win they feel they deserved.
Liverpool stopped the rot by beat Napoli 2-0 in their Champions League fixture at Anfield on Tuesday nightMohammed Salah (left) opened the scoring for Liverpool in the first 85th minute of the game on Tuesday eveningLiverpool forward Darwin Nunez (right), 23, added to their tally in the eight minute of stoppage time to secure the win
MATCH FACTS AND PLAYER RATINGS
LIVERPOOL (4-3-1-2) Alisson 7: Alexander-Arnold 6, Konate 7, Van Dijk 6.5, Tsimikas 6: Thiago 7, Fabinho 6, Milner 6 (Elliott 48 mins 6): Jones 6: Salah 8, Firmino 7
Subs unused: Adrian (GK), Kelleher (GK), Gomez, Ramsay, Robertson, Nunez, Carvalho, Bajcetic, Phillips
Goals – Salah (85), Nunez (90)
Booked – Konate, Alexander-Arnold, Nunez
Manager – Jurgen Klopp 7
NAPOLI (4-3-3) Merit 7: De Lorenzo 7, Ostigard 7, Kim 7, Olivera 7: Ndombele 6, Lobotka 7, Zambo Anguissa 6: Politano 6, Osimhen 7, Kvaratskhelia 7
Subs unused: Idasiak (GK), Sirigu, Jesus, Rui, Elmas, Lorenzo, Simeone, Zielinski, Zerbin, Zanoli, Gaetano, Raspadori
Manager – Luciano Spalleti 6
Referee – Tobias Steiler (Germany) 6
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