Lessons learned: Referee controversies and key performances in the game against Leipzig

Remember everyone says officials abroad are better, yes? We'll come back to this a little later, but there were a lot of positives from some of the reds in this encounter. Arne Slot now has 11 wins from his 12 Liverpool games and will be more annoyed at how difficult things have made his team. They seemed determined to encourage Leipzig in the closing stages, but it was undoubtedly a deserved win as they sit just behind Villa in second place on goal difference. We take a look at the lessons we learned from another brilliant away win in the Champions League.

Referee?!?!

It's almost tempting to say that you want to bring John Brooks back in some capacity. Well, almost. It's hard to believe that there are worse referees than outside the Premier League, but after the coincidence that dismissed Konate for nothing against Bologna, we have a Swiss entry for this competition. Alexis Mac Allister was clearly taken out by Leipzig captain Orban, but somehow received a yellow card for simulation. Worse still, Darwin Nunez was obviously tripped in the penalty area by the same player, except it resulted in a goal kick. To make matters worse, the VAR failed to intervene due to a clear and obvious error. Despite all the technology available, officiating is at its lowest level in years. I don't even know what to say anymore.

Tale of two guardians

Technically, we can almost say that both are true. They shouldn't have needed him, but Liverpool had to resort to Kelleher on several occasions, particularly late on. He made six saves and none were better than the 1-1 point shot from Leipzig's dangerous man Sesko. The Irish goalkeeper also saved a pair from Haidara and used a fingertip shot to prevent a deflected shot from Simons from going into the goal. Gulacsi was also brilliant and a couple of saves from Van Dijk and Gakpo really stood out. The former Liverpool goalkeeper has shown that he is a top-class goalkeeper in his own right. Liverpool's current and former number two is truly of the highest quality.

Nunez Nunez Nunez!

To be fair to Darwin, he deserved this for his performances against Chelsea alone. As angry as Mo Salah actually was, he did the right thing by firing home from close range for the Reds. He proved to be the game-winner, but his team-mates will appreciate his work ethic even more as the Uruguayan pressed like a demon and once again won his share of duels. He was unlucky with a header that drew a fine save from Gulacsi, and how he failed to convert a penalty remains unclear. With Jota away, he couldn't have picked a better time to get into shape. Perhaps it would be wise for Slot to take him out late on and ensure he is as ready as he can be for Arsenal.