Liverpool maintained their perfect record in the Champions League as Luis Diaz’s second-half hat-trick propelled them to an astonishing 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen at Anfield to move to the top of the table. Arne Slot's side had found Xabi Alonso's Bundesliga champions to be awkward opponents in the first half but the fireworks came from Liverpool after the hour mark with two beautiful goals in quick succession through Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo. Diaz's first, a dinked finish, came after Curtis Jones sprung the offside trap, unlocking Leverkusen's defence, and the Reds soon did it again even if the assistant missed it - a VAR check was needed to spot Gakpo was onside from Mohamed Salah's cross.
Diaz added two more to inflict only the third defeat in two seasons for Alonso's team on his first competitive return to Anfield since departing in 2009. He was the standout coach last season. With 14 wins from 16 now, Slot is making his own case this year.
Player ratings: Liverpool: Kelleher (7); Alexander-Arnold (7), Konate (7), Van Dijk (7), Tsimikas (7), Mac Allister (7), Gravenberch (7), Jones (8), Salah (7), Diaz (9), Gakpo (7). Subs: Szoboszlai (6), Nunez (n/a), Robertson (n/a), Quansah (n/a), Bradley (n/a). Bayer Leverkusen: Hradecky (5); Frimpong (6), Tapsoba (5), Tah (5), Hincapie (5), Grimaldo (6), Palacios (6), Xhaka (6), Wirtz (6), Garcia (6), Boniface (5).
Subs: Hofmann (6), Andrich (6), Schick (n/a), Tella (n/a). Player of the Match: Luis Diaz. Please use Chrome browse.
