Salah strikes twice as Liverpool beat Red Star

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Mohamed Salah scored twice as Liverpool beat Red Star Belgrade 4-0 in Champions League Group C at Anfield on Wednesday to get their last 16 hopes back on track.

Roberto Firmino set Liverpool, beaten at Napoli in their previous game, on their way in the 20th minute with an emphatic finish after a smart pull back from Andy Robertson found the Brazilian in space in the box.

Swiss international Xherdan Shaqiri, busy and creative throughout, fed Salah for Liverpool's second on the stroke of halftime, the Egyptian firing home from inside the box.

Roberto Firmino (L) celebrates with Xherdan Shaqiri (R) after scoring the opening goal for Liverpool, October 24, 2018. /VCG Photo

Red Star had threatened little and Liverpool put the game beyond them six minutes after the interval when Filip Stojkovic stuck out an arm to block Sadio Mane and Salah blasted home the penalty for his 50th goal in 65 games for the club.

Mane then missed another penalty before making amends with a close-range finish in the 80th minute.

With Paris St Germain and Napoli drawing 2-2 it means Liverpool are now top of the group with six points, one more than Napoli and two better than PSG.

Sparkling Dortmund top Group A

Borussia Dortmund cruised past Atletico Madrid 4-0 with two goals from substitute Raphael Guerreiro on Wednesday.

The Germans, unbeaten in all competitions so far this season but without injured in-form striker Paco Alcacer, grabbed the lead through Axel Witsel in the 38th minute with a slightly deflected effort.

Apart from an Antoine Griezmann effort, Atletico never threatened in the first half but came out battling after the break with Saul Niguez rattling the crossbar with a curled shot in the 52nd.

Dortmund players celebrate a 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid at their changing room after the game, October 24, 2018. /VCG Photo

Saul had another three chances in the following minutes as Atletico seemingly edged closer to an equalizer and kept the Germans on the backfoot.

But Dortmund timed their second goal to perfection to take some of the pressure off, with substitute Guerreiro, who had come on in the 63rd, tapping in from close range from an Achraf Hakimi pass.

Hakimi then delivered another assist for another substitute Jadon Sancho to grab Dortmund's third with his first European goal in the 83rd before Guerreiro completed their victory with his second of the evening six minutes later.

Atletico had hit the woodwork for the second time in the 78th minute but had to accept a crushing loss, their first Champions League defeat of the season.

Dortmund, who have yet to concede a goal in the competition, are top on nine points from three games, with Atletico second on six.

Source(s): Reuters