By The Telegraph (World News) | Created at 2024-10-02 17:55:46 | Updated at 2024-10-02 20:32:59
2 hours ago
Match preview
Good evening and welcome to coverage of the Champions League as Liverpool host Bologna at Anfield in matchday two. Liverpool won their opening game in the Champions League as they beat AC Milan 3-1 in the San Siro in matchday one thanks to goals from Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai.
Liverpool missed out on Champions League football last season and head coach Arne Slot, who will experience Anfield under the Champions League lights for the first time as Liverpool boss tonight, wants his players to show how much they have missed Champions League football at home over the last 12 months.
“The [players] have missed out on the Champions League for a year so when they step out on the pitch tomorrow I want to see this, I want to feel like they feel ‘Ah, we missed it for a season’.
“A club of this standard has to be ready and I’m hoping and expecting the same from our fans. They have missed it for a season and I am hoping they feel this desire to show to Europe again ‘They missed us because of this’ and that combination should hopefully lead to a very special night for everyone involved at Liverpool.”
Liverpool are top of the pile in the Premier League; they have won five out of six and are one point clear at the summit after a 2-1 win at Wolves on Saturday. In all competitions so far Liverpool have won seven out of eight and, should they win tonight, Arne Slot would become the first coach in the club’s history to win eight of his first nine games in charge. Liverpool will be without Italian forward Federico Chiesa tonight but Diogo Jota should be fit to feature despite picking up a knock in the win over Wolves on Saturday. Chiesa has not been ruled out of Liverpool’s trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Bologna sit in 13th in Serie A and drew 1-1 at home against Atalanta on the weekend, playing nearly the whole of the second half down to ten men. They have won just one league game so far but only suffered one defeats as they have drawn four games. Their Champions League campaign began with a 0-0 draw at home against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Thiago Motta led the club to the Champions League for the first time since 1964-65. However, it has been a summer of change at Bologna as Motta was lured away to Juventus and has been replaced by Vincenzo Italiano, who was Fiorentina manager for three years before being brought in to replace Motta over the summer. Not only did Motta leave the club during the summer, they also sold Riccardo Calafiori to Arsenal and Joshua Zirkzee to Manchester United. Tonight is the first time these sides have met competitively.
Team news to follow shortly.
