Liverpool has now won all four of their Champions League games. Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo scored goals in the second half to beat Bayer Leverkusen’s tough defense.

In the first 45 minutes, Xabi Alonso’s team didn’t give up much at the back, but Curtis Jones made a great move to get past the center backs. Soon after Diaz scored, Gakpo was brought onside by a following leg, which made the Reds’ lead two goals. Between the first and second goals, Diaz made it 4-0 before the end.

After four games, only Liverpool is the only team in UEFA’s top tournament with a perfect record. But if Aston Villa beats Club Brugge tomorrow, they could tie that.

Winners

Jones was excellent here, in for the rested Dominik Szoboszlai. He played the pass that broke down Leverkusen’s defense but his performance was about far more than just that. He was pressing relentlessly and was central to everything that the Reds did. Alexis Mac Allister, alongside him, looked much better than last weekend too, which can only be a big boost.

Losers

Darwin Nunez would have wanted to be involved in a game like this but Diaz was preferred as the number nine. That probably isn’t ideal for the Uruguayan, though Arne Slot said pre-match that it was only about rotation.

“There is a lot of games to be played,” the Liverpool boss had said live on Amazon Prime. “Last week, we played with two 10s and now I chose not to play Darwin because he has played quite a lot recently and before he didn’t.”

Diaz netted a hat-trick and it was clearly the right call. In fact, it worked so well that it would be a surprise if it wasn’t repeated against Aston Villa next weekend.

Player ratings

Caoimhin Kelleher (7). The goalkeeper didn’t have too much to do at the back but what he did do was solid enough. On his first Champions League appearance at Anfield with fans, he kept a clean sheet. Made a good stop from Patrick Schick near the end.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (7). Defended really well and got his body between the ball and the goal a few times to block shots and passing angles. Would have wanted to do better with a free-kick in a good position that hit the top of the ball.

Ibrahima Konate (7). Like Kelleher, didn’t have that much to do but did well with the things that came his way. Victor Boniface is a top striker at his best but he was kept quiet here.

Virgil van Dijk (7). Made a couple of big blocks and had to make a few headed clearances. Nothing that he wasn’t able to deal with, though Jeremie Frimpong did get the wrong side of him at one stage and fortunately went to ground slightly too easily.

Kostas Tsimikas (6). Slightly fortunate that the ball struck Frimpong’s hand when his goal was ruled out in the first half. Aside from that, Tsimikas did relatively well defensively. Offered a limited amount going the other way.

Ryan Gravenberch (7). Not the loudest performance from the Dutchman but that isn’t his fault. In a congested midfield, he kept things simple and let those in front of him do the creative work.

Alexis Mac Allister (7). Much improved on his performance at the weekend and he seemed to have a newfound energy from somewhere having looked shattered against Brighton. Zipped about and looked much more like his usual self. Started very well and tailed off a bit but everything was clean and tidy.

Curtis Jones (8). Full of energy and started the game brilliantly. It was his pass that broke the deadlock and he pressed relentlessly throughout. He deserves a proper run in the team.

Mohamed Salah (8). Didn’t really have a huge amount of influence in the first half when he was well-marshaled by the opposition defense. Assisted the second and third goals, though, with good crosses for Gakpo and then Diaz.

Luis Diaz (9). Playing an unfamiliar role, he wasn’t able to get much change out of a well-drilled Leverkusen back five to begin with. The Colombian was linking playing and taking a full part in the game, though, and he was heavily involved. By the end, he had a hat-trick as he completely tore up the Leverkusen defense in the second half.

Cody Gakpo (7). Should have done better when he shot straight at Lukas Hradecky just before the interval, but had earlier curled in a delicious cross that Jones nearly got on the end of. Got his goal and was much improved in the second half.

Substitutes

Dominik Szoboszlai (6). On to give Jones a rest, he wasn’t likely to live up to the standard that the Reds ace had set. Not a bad showing but the match was already won when he emerged.

Darwin Nunez, Conor Bradley, Andy Robertson and Darwin Nunez also came on but too late to earn a rating. They emerged with fewer than 10 minutes left of the game.