Liverpool delivered a dominant 4-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday in the fourth round of the UEFA Champions League, continuing their perfect run in the competition.
The Reds’ goals came from Luis Díaz, who scored a stunning hat-trick (61st, 63rd, and 83rd minutes), and Cody Gakpo, who sealed the win in the 90+2 minute.
With this result, Liverpool temporarily moved to the top of the group with 12 points, while Leverkusen dropped to 9th place, remaining on 7 points.
Liverpool started the match with relentless pressure, looking to break through Bayer Leverkusen’s defense, but the first 10 minutes passed without any significant threat to goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky.
The first real test for Hradecky came when Curtis Jones fired a shot from the edge of the box, but the Leverkusen goalkeeper was able to make the save.
Leverkusen thought they had taken the lead when Jeremie Frimpong scored, but the referee ruled it out for a foul earlier in the build-up on the visiting team.
Both teams struggled to create clear chances after that, and the first half ended in a goalless draw.
The first chance of the second half came from Liverpool, as Curtis Jones unleashed a powerful shot from the edge of the box, but it sailed over the crossbar.
Luis Díaz opened the scoring for Liverpool, taking a through ball from Curtis Jones and catching Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky off guard with a delicate lob into the net.
Moments later, Mohamed Salah delivered a perfectly timed cross into the box for Cody Gakpo, who leaped to meet the ball with a flying header, doubling Liverpool’s lead almost immediately.
Leverkusen nearly responded in kind when Alex Grimaldo crossed to Amine Bounifas, who connected with a header from the air, but the attempt went wide of the target.
With just seven minutes remaining in regular time, Díaz sealed the game for Liverpool with his second goal of the night. After receiving another fine cross from Salah, he calmly slotted the ball into the net to make it 3-0.
Liverpool’s goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher kept Leverkusen at bay, saving several chances, with his best stop coming when he tipped away a powerful shot from Andrich, sending it out for a corner.
In injury time, Díaz completed his hat-trick, tapping in a rebound after the ball had deflected off the defense, finishing it into the net to make it 4-0 and complete a dominant performance for the home side.
