Jurgen Klopp will have been highly impressed with the club he has left behind as he watches from his holiday home in Majorca, possibly wearing a half-and-half scarf.
Klopp will be Red Bull’s ‘head of worldwide soccer’, whatever that means, beginning January 1.
And when Klopp begins his £10 million role, which appears to be a glorified PR job, it will be fascinating to see where Liverpool goes under Arne Slot.
Right now, it looks really good.
Darwin’s Nunez’s first-half goal made it 11 victories in 12 for the Dutchman, with the only wobble coming against Nottingham Forest.
While Liverpool had to withstand some intense pressure in the second half, goalie Caoimhin Kelleher made a couple of crucial stops.
While Liverpool’s early schedule was highly favorable, the level of competition has increased in recent days.
First, against in-form Chelsea, and now against a Bundesliga squad that is unbeaten and tied for first place with Bayern Munich.
However, Slot has seen his team overcome both of these difficult encounters, and an even larger challenge awaits them on Sunday against Arsenal.
There will undoubtedly be a wobble for Slot at some point, but while he is new to English football, the side he inherited is not, and they have played some beautiful football despite living precariously at the back.
FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN-UP DEALS
Soccer player sporting a red shirt with “Standard Chartered” on it. Nunez was denied a penalty before half-time. Soccer player with the number 5 on his jersey. Caoimhin Kelleher made some impressive saves.
Nunez’s close-range attempt came at a time when Liverpool were fortunate not to be behind by a couple of goals, much alone level.
Mo Salah’s header appeared to be heading in before Nunez guided it over the line, but it will have boosted the Uruguayan’s confidence given that he had only scored once this season.
Chelsea Player Ratings versus Liverpool RATED Play Video He was only playing owing to Diogo Jota’s injury. While Liverpool has some fitness difficulties, championship challengers Arsenal appear to have more.
At the Emirates, Slot’s team cannot afford to be as open in center midfield as they were.
Curtis Jones was the man of the match at Anfield on Sunday, and although starting from the bench, his replacement, Alexis MacAllister, initially failed to provide adequate defensive assistance for Ryan Gravenberch.
Mac Allister was also booked for a theatrical dive, and home defender Castello Lukeba was fortunate to only receive a caution after burying his studs into the foot of former Leipzig favourite Dominik Szoboszlai.
Leipzig began with great intent after losing their first two games to Atletico Madrid and Juventus, but they were punished for failing to capitalize on early opportunities that fell to Benjamin Sesko and Amadou Haidara.
A scoreboard for a match between RB Leipzig and Liverpool.
During a competitive encounter between two teams, one soccer player wore a red bull jersey.
Lois Openda believed he had scored, but his goal was disallowed owing to offside.
Kelleher will play in goal for a few more weeks while Alisson is injured. But Slot will not want to see a repeat of the incident in which he rushed out of his area and failed to head the ball into touch.
Sesko had an open goal from a distance and should have scored, but his effort went wide.
Lois Openda, Leipzig’s Belgian striker, felt he had scored a cracker from outside the area, but despite flicking his finger at the officials, he was miles offside.
Within 60 seconds, Nunez completed a superb move by the visitors. Until then, Liverpool’s only effort had been a wide shot by Salah, but on this occasion, the Egyptian star headed Kostas Tsimikas’ cross into the bottom corner, with Nunez ensuring the ball crossed the line.
Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi, who went five years without making an appearance for Liverpool, kept his club in the game by saving headers from Nunez and Virgil van Dijk.
Nunez was then unhappy with the officials because he believed he should have been awarded a penalty and there was obviously contact from Willi Orban.
Cody Gakpo squandered an excellent opportunity by hitting directly at Gulacsi, while Mac Allister curled a shot against the crossbar.
Nonetheless, Kelleher made important saves to deny Sesko and Xavi Simons, and when Openda had the ball in the net again, he was caught offside for the second time.
Slot currently has three Champions League wins in a row, with Premier League rivals Aston Villa edging them out on goal difference.
Despite the fact that former midfielder Xabi Alonso will bring Bayer Leverkusen to Anfield next month, as will Jude Bellingham’s Real Madrid, Liverpool appears to be in a good position to finish in the top eight and avoid the play-offs.
A few Liverpool fans will have already booked their accommodation for May 31 in Munich.
Many people expected them to come apart as Klopp packed his things.
