Liverpool target breaks Thomas Muller record as Man City take pre-Anfield blow

September 30, 2021
Jack Lusby

One Liverpool target broke a record held by Thomas Muller in the Champions League this week, while Lionel Messi’s goal struck a blow to Sunday’s opponents Man City.

It was a sensational week for the Reds in Europe, with Curtis Jones starring in a 5-1 victory over a Porto side who looked troubled from the get-go.

Sadio Mane became the third player in the club’s history to score 20 Champions League goals, while Mohamed Salah surpassed Samuel Eto’o as the second highest-scoring African player since the competition began.

Elsewhere in Group B, a last-minute Luis Suarez penalty gave Atletico Madrid a 2-1 win away to AC Milan, meaning they are two points off Liverpool at the top of the group.

Milan are yet to pick up a point after two games, while Porto sit third with one, ahead of back-to-back clashes between the Reds and Atletico in October and November.

Before then, though, Liverpool host Man City in their biggest game of the season so far, with Pep Guardiola’s side heading to Anfield on Sunday.

While thrashing Porto served as the perfect warmup for the Reds, City were unable to build momentum as they fell to a 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

Messi scored his first for PSG after Idrissa Gueye had broken the deadlock early on, making light work of arguably City’s strongest possible lineup.

It was not so positive for Messi’s former side, though, with Barcelona suffering a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Benfica, who brought Adel Taarabt off the bench in a surreal depiction of how things can change in football.

In Group G on Wednesday night, Liverpool target Karim Adeyemi struck twice from the penalty spot as Red Bull Salzburg beat Lille 2-1.

19 – Aged 19 years and 254 days Karim Adeyemi is the youngest German player to score a brace in the Champions League, taking over the record from Thomas Müller (20 years 2 days). Diamond. #SALLOSC #UCL pic.twitter.com/Z56pRIYpTP

— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) September 29, 2021

In doing so, Adeyemi became the youngest German player to score a brace in the Champions League since Muller, having done so aged 19 years and 254 days.

Liverpool are claimed to be preparing a bid for the teenager in the January transfer window, with Salzburg expected to hold out for around £25.6 million for a player scouted by the Reds since prior to his Austria move.

There were routine victories for the likes of Bayern Munich, Ajax, Dortmund, Zenit St Petersburg and Atalanta over the other fixtures, but Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol stunned Real Madrid on their way to a 2-1 win.

A stunning late strike from Sebastien Thill sealed the victory for Sheriff, who are now top of Group D having also put two past Shakhtar Donestk.