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UEFA Champions League

The Magnificent Seven

Just when you've been waiting for a goal for 90 minutes seven come along at once. And there are plenty of reasons why Liverpool FC's 7-0 Champions League win in Maribor was historic...

Frustration was building. Since scoring four against Hoffenheim and Arsenal in August the Reds had continued to dominate games and create loads of chances, but a clinical edge in front of goal had deserted Jürgen Klopp's side. Matches that LFC should've won turned into draws. How annoying.

Both Sevilla and Spartak Moscow managed to earn points from Liverpool FC in the opening Champions League fixtures, making the Reds' first ever trip to NK Maribor a really-need-to-win game.

Potentially it was a tricky night – Birmingham City were the only English side to have ever won at Stadion Ljudski vrt and Maribor were unbeaten at home since May – but what happened next saw the history books being rewritten. NK Maribor 0 Liverpool FC 7 (SEVEN).

Roberto Firmino got the first, Philippe Coutinho netted the second, Mo Salah slotted home the third and then just got the final touch ahead of Firmino to make it 4-0 at half-time, the first time the Reds had led by that scoreline at the interval since visiting Wigan Athletic in 2006.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain celebrates scoring his first goal for LFC

Firmino headed in his second after the break, substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain weighed in with his first LFC goal since being signed from Arsenal and it was teenager Trent Alexander-Arnold who made it 7-0 as Liverpool FC equalled the record for the biggest ever UEFA Champions League away win recorded by Marseille (2010 v MSK Zilina) and Shakhtar Donetsk (2014 v BATE).

"Everyone has confidence the good result is coming"

Even more impressively, given our club's esteemed European history, it was also Liverpool FC's record away win in Europe by two goals, eclipsing 5-0 wins against KR Reykjavik (1964), Crusaders (1976) and FC Haka (2001), and was only one goal short of equalling our highest ever away win (8-0 at Stoke City in 2000).

“In the last three or four games we missed many chances, if you saw the games you know we created many chances that we missed and we had bad luck,” said Salah afterwards. “Now I think that everyone has confidence the good result is coming.”

The biggest win under Klopp's management also ensured Liverpool FC were top of Group E having played each opponent once and if the Reds keep turning chances into goals like they did in Maribor then a place in the Champions League knockout stages in 2018 surely awaits.