Seventh heaven Reds carve place in history

This 7-0 win was the biggest margin of victory for an English club away from home in the European Cup/ Champions League and the biggest win by an English club away from home in European competition since Arsenal defeated Standard Liege 7-0 in the Cup Winners’ Cup in Nov 1993.

The result also equalled the biggest margin of victory by an away team in the Champions League era – drawing level with Marseille at MSK Zilina (Nov 2010) and Shakhtar Donetsk at BATE Borisov (Oct 2014), both by 7-0. win as the hosts generously gifted possession, particularly in the early stages. There was nothing truly impressive to see here.

That would be ridiculously harsh considering Liverpool’s results heading into this fixture and Maribor’s previously excellent home record, including notable results against Premier League opponents. Klopp was quick to point out how others, like Chelsea, failed to win here. “We could read the papers over here because my assistant speaks the language and he said they were positive because no English team had won in Maribor [in the Champions League],” he said.

Consider too how Klopp’s side had one victory in their past eight games before rampantly rediscovering their goal touch.

He made a few changes, but the tweaks worked. Jordan Henderson was surprisingly left out, James Milner taking both his place and the captain’s armband. Milner was superb in an advanced midfield role. Salah’s first was courtesy of a Firmino assist, and he tapped in Liverpool’s fourth shortly before half-time, winning a sprint with his Brazilian team-mate.

The second half started with the same momentum. Klopp remained curiously agitated on the touchline, chastising every wayward pass. You sensed that, having waited for this for weeks, he was intolerant of any easing up. If anything, the pace quickened after the interval and Firmino glanced in Coutinho’s freekick for the fifth in the 54th minute.

Oxlade-chamberlain added the sixth in the 86th minute, while four minutes later Alexander-arnold’s 25-yard shot went in via a huge deflection off a sliding home defender.

Klopp said: “The only problem recently was how to explain why we didn’t win. When you don’t score, it is a challenge to stay confident but we will try to use this result now.”