Liverpool reached the Champions League’s last 16 with a cruising win over Atletico Madrid.
Diogo Jota broke the deadlock against his former club by meeting a Trent Alexander-Arnold delivery from the right side with a close-range header.
Jurgen Klopp’s side doubled their lead later in the first half with Sadio Mane helping send on Alexander-Arnold’s effort past Jan Oblak from close range.
The visitors were reduced to 10 men as Felipe received a straight red card for a cynical foul on the Senegal international just 15 minutes after he scored.
Here were the key talking points from Anfield:
Mane refuses to fall for Atleti playbook
Atletico Madrid set up at Anfield in the only way Diego Simeone knows how.
His players attempted to rile up their Liverpool counterparts at every given opportunity during the first half, with Sadio Mane a particular focal point.
Referee Danny Makkelie clearly had little sympathy for the Senegalese as he was hacked down by the visitors’ rank and file at each given opportunity.
The Dutch official refused to offer Mane any protection from Atleti’s onslaught and even booked him for reacting to one particularly harsh challenge by Koke.
But those attempts to provoke him into a second yellow card backfired spectacularly as the forward kept his head while the visitors lost theirs.
Felipe received his marching orders for a cynical foul on Mane just before half-time, by which point Jurgen Klopp spared him any potential retribution.
He did not emerge for the second half, replaced by Roberto Firmino, but the 29-year-old had succeeded in refusing to fall for Atleti’s dark arts playbook.
Group of Death? You’re having a laugh
When the Champions League group stages were drawn in late August, Liverpool had supposedly been pitted in a bona fide ‘Group of Death’.
Four consecutive victories and a place in the knockout phase later, the Anfield faithful could be forgiven for wondering what exactly the fuss was all about.
Klopp’s side have tangled with European heavyweights in this Group B; edging out AC Milan and trouncing Porto before back-to-back wins over Atleti.
Save for a brief period at the Wanda Metropolitano, however, they have resembled a well-oiled machine hellbent on conquering the continent again.
Only a fool would dare bet against Liverpool’s name being on that famous trophy for a seventh time in St Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena later this season.
They have not simply coasted through as the winners of this so-called ‘Group of Death’ with two games still to spare; they did so laughing in its face.
Alexander-Arnold all right on the night
No Liverpool player thrives on the European stage quite like Trent Alexander-Arnold.
His place in Anfield’s rich continental tapestry has long been assured but the England international continues to excel on midweeks beneath the floodlights.
Two assists in eight minutes told only half the story of Alexander-Arnold’s output against an Atleti side determined to stifle creativity at every turn.
He had also completed 103 passes while making a combined five tackles and interceptions before departing to a standing ovation during stoppage time.
Alexander-Arnold played out of his skin as well as his traditional comfort zone as Klopp granted him licence to operate more in the final third of the pitch.
That led to the West Derby-born full-back becoming a regular and haring presence in midfield areas, where some believe his natural calling remains.
Operating as a wide player, however, is tailor-made for Alexander-Arnold to be in the right spaces at the right time, often to such devastating effect.