Erling Haaland has quickly become the darling of the Premier League, with his record-breaking start to the season swiftly elevating him to a status of being probably the most-feared player in the division.

At the same time, Mohamed Salah has largely endured an underwhelming start to the campaign. But after a Champions League treble in midweek, the forward made the difference as Liverpool beat reigning champions Manchester City 1-0 at Anfield on Sunday.

Salah's winning goal was just the tip of the iceberg. His performance showed he's truly back, and Liverpool's fighting spirit proved they are still – despite what the table says – one of England's two best teams.

The wider context of the game was nothing like what we've come to expect of this fixture, which in recent years has become the Premier League's biggest event and even decided the eventual destination of the title.

Jurgen Klopp conceded on Friday that while this may well be a title-deciding match again in some respects, it wasn't going to be Liverpool's trophy hopes on the line – realistically, such a challenge is surely already beyond them even after winning.

With Liverpool going into the game 12th in the table, it was their pride at stake. Much has changed since the Reds had too much for City in the Community Shield a week before the start of the season; the perception of Haaland, first and foremost.

Back then, most would've been predicting another straight shoot-out between City and Liverpool for the title, though the relative lack of jeopardy at Anfield on Sunday didn't take anything away from a riveting, fiery contest.

Klopp highlighted the potential importance of a packed Anfield, and the stadium was certainly rocking. Even minor duel successes for the hosts were cheered like goals early on; it was fierce, with meaty tackles flying in all over the place, while on the touchline the two managers snarled and barked at poor decisions and questionable refereeing calls like rabid rottweilers – Klopp's late red card wasn't particularly surprising.

Of course, for City all eyes were on Haaland. It's fair to say he's more than proven his point since a pretty dreadful – by his standards – outing against Liverpool in the Community Shield. Though, for someone as ultra-competitive as the Norwegian, there was still probably a part of him desperate to be decisive because of that day.

City certainly seemed eager to give him that opportunity, and that was arguably to their detriment in the first half. The visitors almost seemed a little too intent on finding the big blonde behemoth, as if a victory would only count if Haaland played a crucial part.

One such incident saw an opening carved open for Phil Foden, but instead of a first-time shot after being fed by Haaland, he checked back, ran into danger and then the attack petered out.

Not that Haaland didn't have his chances. One lob attempt after being released behind Virgil van Dijk troubled Alisson, then he should have buried a header from Kevin De Bruyne's cross but put it straight at the goalkeeper.

On the other side of things, Salah looked eager to remind people he was the Premier League's top attacker. The Egyptian took the game to City and was electric in the first half. His movement, strength and dribbling all troubled the visitors' defence – the problem was opportunities weren't necessarily flowing.

That changed at the start of the second half. Salah spun Ruben Dias and latched on to a Thiago Alcantara pass into the City half, playing him through on goal. He seemed destined to spark bedlam in the Kop behind the goal he was charging towards, but a remarkable fingertip save from Ederson denied him.

Alisson soon produced a similarly vital stop to thwart Haaland at the other end, having only recently seen a Foden goal disallowed for a foul by the Norway striker in the build-up.

At this point, City were dominating more than ever, but Salah had looked a threat throughout on the break. Another opportunity was certain to arrive, and it was one such moment that brought Liverpool the breakthrough.

Alisson's long punt went straight to Salah, who used his body brilliantly to spin away from Joao Cancelo before racing towards goal. Ederson could not repeat his earlier heroics – Salah coolly converted.

City piled the pressure on in response. Both teams scrapped, Bernardo Silva and Salah scrapped with each other. Klopp was sent off. Diogo Jota ran himself into the ground and on to a stretcher. The imperious Van Dijk denied Haaland a certain goal.

Liverpool held on amid a gripping and tense finale, seeing out a victory that could transform their season. But beyond that, this fixture was a showcase of such quality.

Salah's moment of brilliance was befitting as the decisive action, though there were exceptional performances on both sides. Joe Gomez, Van Dijk, James Milner, Alisson, Ederson, Haaland, De Bruyne – the list goes on. All showed their varied qualities as we were once again reminded of why this fixture has become such an anticipated duel in recent years.

Forget the table. Liverpool are one of England's two best teams, and Salah remains one of the Premier League's two best forwards.

Liverpool handed Manchester City their first Premier League defeat of the season thanks to a Mohamed Salah strike in an enthralling encounter at Anfield.

The Egyptian raced onto a long pass from Alisson with 14 minutes remaining before slotting past Ederson to give the Reds just their third league win of the season.

City were frustrated to see Phil Foden’s second half goal ruled out following a VAR check for a foul by Erling Haaland in the build-up.

The result leaves Pep Guardiola’s men four points behind league leaders Arsenal, while Liverpool move up to eighth after a much-improved showing.

A high-octane start to the game did not lead to many early chances, with Ilkay Gundogan forcing the first save from either goalkeeper in the 15th minute, but his hopeful strike from 25 yards was easy for Alisson to deal with.

Liverpool's first opportunity came through Diogo Jota, who could only place his header from a cross by Harvey Elliott straight at Ederson, before Andrew Robertson received the ball on the left of the penalty area after the City stopper had palmed away a James Milner cross, but the Scot fired his effort over the crossbar.

Bernardo Silva sliced a shot into the Kop from the edge of the box on the half-hour mark, while Haaland tested Alisson on two occasions, also seeing a header loop over the bar.

The hosts should have been ahead shortly after the restart when Salah was played through on goal by Elliott, but Ederson got the slightest touch to it to tip the Egyptian's finish just wide of the right-hand post.

City thought they were ahead moments later when Haaland burst through, forcing a save from Alisson before Foden put the ball in the net on the rebound, but referee Anthony Taylor ruled it out after the VAR asked him to check the monitor, with Haaland having fouled Fabinho in the build-up.

It was Liverpool who took the lead on 76 minutes when Alisson caught a Kevin De Bruyne free-kick before launching it downfield to Salah, who outfoxed Joao Cancelo before finishing calmly past Ederson.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp was sent to the stands by Taylor late on after reacting furiously to the referee's refusal to award his team a free-kick, but it did not matter as Liverpool held on for a win that could turn around their slow start to the campaign.

Mohamed Salah ended his Premier League goal drought by finding the net against Manchester City to move ahead of Steven Gerrard into second place in Liverpool's all-time list of scorers in the competition.

The Egypt international matched Gerrard's tally of 120 league goals for Liverpool in August's 2-1 defeat at Manchester United, but he had gone five top-flight matches without scoring since then.

However, Salah raced clear of the City defence on Sunday to usurp Gerrard with his 121st goal and move to within seven strikes of matching Robbie Fowler's club-record haul of 128 in the Premier League.

Salah now has three goals in nine appearances in the competition this season and has scored at least 19 league goals in each of his five full seasons as a Liverpool player to date, meaning Fowler's record looks destined to fall in the near future.

When it does, it will represent the latest in a long series of landmark goalscoring achievements for the talismanic winger. 

Salah's 32 goals in 2017-18 remain the most scored by any player in a single Premier League campaign, and he has found the net at least 20 times in four separate seasons.

Liverpool have had a player reach that tally on 11 occasions throughout their Premier League history, with Salah responsible for twice as many instances as any other Reds player.

Meanwhile, Salah has overtaken Gerrard's tally despite the former captain playing over 300 more Premier League games than the 30-year-old, who was making his 189th league appearance for Liverpool in the meeting with Bournemouth. 

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he is "not thinking one second" over a potential contract extension as his team prepare to face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

Having joined City in 2016 and led them to four of the last five Premier League titles, Guardiola's side once again look favourites to win the league.

They are the only remaining unbeaten team in the Premier League this season and are kept off the top spot by just Arsenal.

But with Guardiola's current set to expire at the end of the 2022-23 season, there are fears he may depart in similar fashion to the sabbatical period he took when leaving Barcelona in 2012 if a new agreement is not made.

However, Guardiola says he is not even considering his contract situation yet. 

"You know I am not thinking one second about that," he said.

"We have two or three weeks until the World Cup and this is an important time. After that, we have plenty of time to talk about that."

Sunday's fixture sees City face their closest competitors over the past couple of years, with the Citizens and Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool finishing as the top two in three of the past five campaigns.

After finishing as runners-up in both the Premier League and Champions League last term, Liverpool have struggled at the beginning of this season, winning just two of their eight league games and already finding themselves 13 points behind City and 14 behind leaders Arsenal.

Liverpool's star forward Mohamed Salah has faced particular criticism for his poor start, but Guardiola believes the Egypt international will come good.

"These type of players always score goals in their career," Guardiola added. "Sometimes they struggle a little bit, but the quality is there.

"They get chances, they convert it. We played many times against Liverpool. Just because Salah isn't scoring goals now doesn't mean he's not going to score."

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp claimed Wednesday's 7-1 Champions League win away to Rangers has completely changed the mood within the group ahead of Sunday's clash with Manchester City.

The Reds have endured a difficult start to the 2022-23 season, particularly in the Premier League, where they are 10th with 10 points from eight games. Klopp's side also lost their opening Champions League game with a poor 4-1 loss away to Napoli, compounding their issues.

Wednesday's emphatic win in Glasgow, which included a record-breaking Mohamed Salah hat-trick within six minutes and 12 seconds, came after losing 3-2 to Arsenal.

Klopp argued the win had made the mood "completely different" and even joked about getting drunk amid the celebrations.

"It changed the mood, definitely," Klopp told reporters. "It is completely different. We usually drink a beer after away games, but it is that long ago that I drank beer and I probably will be drunk after one.

"It changes the mood completely and that's good, but we all know who we are welcoming on Sunday and this will be a different game. It is better to go into a game with the feeling we've got tonight than any other."

Klopp utilised Salah off the bench against Rangers, coming on in the 68th minute, along with Diogo Jota, who was a 73rd-minute substitute before providing the assists for all three of the Egyptian's goals.

Andy Robertson returned from a knee injury to make his first appearance since Napoli loss in early September as a 67th-minute substitute as well.

Darwin Nunez, Roberto Firmino and Jordan Henderson were among those brought off, although Klopp declined to give much away when asked if the changes were in preparation for City.

"The changes tonight were because we could do it, but Diogo Jota didn't start because I got a call this morning that he feels a little bit his muscle," the German said.

"He could play but he should not play for too long, so it was my decision to decide do I start him for 30 minutes or do we bring him [on] for 20? So that was obviously the right thing to do.

"Hendo played a lot, Darwin now played a lot after not playing that much and you have all of these kind of things in your mind when you do the changes.

"Actually, the first 11 was really good but the changes made gave us the next step with us and that was very, very pleasing. It was good, but that’s it and now we recover and prepare for the next game."

On taking on City, who are second in the Premier League, he added: "We don’t have to make a big thing of it, but the best football team in the world right now is coming to Anfield on Sunday.

"We will see what we can do, but it's not now that we are with a big mouth and telling them come and we are waiting. Not at all. It was for us tonight, for different reasons, incredibly important. Yes, 7-1 is a freak result, we know that."

Mohamed Salah made a piece of Champions League history with his quickfire hat-trick in Liverpool's 7-1 thrashing of Rangers on Wednesday, scoring the fastest ever treble in the competition.

Just six minutes and 12 seconds separated Salah's first and third goals in Liverpool's comeback win, the shortest timeframe ever recorded in the Champions League.

Salah's hat-trick saw him eclipse the efforts of former Bayern Munich hero Robert Lewandowski, who has scored two of the five fastest trebles in Champions League history.

Lewandowski required 11 minutes and seven seconds to hit a treble against Red Star Belgrade in November 2019, an achievement he bettered against Salzburg in March this year, when he scored three times in 10 minutes and 22 seconds.

Other than Salah, only Bafetimbi Gomis and Mike Newell have scored a hat-trick in quicker time than Lewandowski, while Cristiano Ronaldo sits just outside the top five after managing an 11-minute treble against Malmo for Real Madrid in 2015.

Salah scored his hat-trick over two minutes faster than previous record holder Gomis, who took eight minutes and 45 seconds to do so against Dinamo Zagreb in 2011.

Salah brought up his treble with a trademark strike, latching onto Diogo Jota's pass before cutting in from the right wing and bending a fine finish into the top-left corner.

Jota assisted all three of Salah's goals as Liverpool returned to form in emphatic fashion, which represents the first time a player has assisted a team-mate's Champions League treble since March 2012, when Franck Ribery teed up Mario Gomez's strikes for Bayern against Basel

Meanwhile, Salah has now scored 38 Champions League goals for Liverpool, the most managed by any player for an English club in the competition.

The Egypt talisman had previously trailed former Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero and Chelsea legend Didier Drogba, who each hit 36 goals for their respective clubs in the competition.

Jurgen Klopp hailed a "special" performance from record-breaking Mohamed Salah as Liverpool roared to a sensational 7-1 Champions League win over Rangers on Wednesday.

Salah came off the substitutes' bench to fire home a hat-trick in just six minutes and 12 seconds – the fastest ever in Champions League history.

A Roberto Firmino brace and a fine strike from Darwin Nunez had earlier overturned Scott Arfield's opener for Rangers, while Harvey Elliott added a seventh after Salah's quick-fire treble.

The win means Liverpool need just a point from their final two Group A games against Ajax and Napoli to qualify for the knockout stages, and Klopp was delighted with his side's display.

"We had a really positive half-time talk. We wanted more in the second half. Clearly, it worked out," he told BT Sport.

"It was special, particularly Mo. It was very important how we adapted to the positions, to the line-up. Everyone who started tonight played really well. Fabio [Carvalho] and Harvey, really good.

"It's the best we could have asked for. I'm really pleased.

"I really think the first half prepared the second half. When we are on it, we can be a really good football team. We built on the good things from the first half, we kept them moving and obviously they had to change the centre-half.

"The goals we scored were exceptional. It's a night where things worked out for us. It changes the mood definitely, and that's good.

"We all know who is coming on Sunday [Manchester City]. That will be different, but it's better to go in with the feeling from tonight."

Rangers, meanwhile, were left to a rue a fourth consecutive defeat in this season's competition.

They sit rock bottom of Group A, three points adrift of Ajax, with boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst left to lament his side's inability to stem the Liverpool tide in the second half. 

"It was a very disappointing result. We played well first half and were in the game," he said.

"The second goal, we know their strength. When you lose the ball in the middle of the pitch they are so fast on transition. We got caught a couple of times.

"We conceded too many easy goals. It went pretty quickly after that. We tried to push, but after the 3-1 you could see we were struggling. They upped the tempo and we weren't accurate in our passing."

Mohamed Salah scored the quickest hat-trick in Champions League history as Liverpool thumped Rangers 7-1 to put one foot in the last 16.

It started badly for Jurgen Klopp's side at Ibrox when Scott Arfield scored his first Champions League goal with a crisp finish past Alisson from outside the penalty area.

Liverpool pulled level soon after, though, when Firmino headed home a corner from close range, before the Brazilian and Darwin Nunez put the Reds 3-1 up. 

That set the stage for Salah to come off the substitutes' bench and complete a hat-trick in just six minutes and 12 seconds to leave Liverpool, who added a seventh late on through Harvey Elliott, needing just a point from their final two games against Ajax and Napoli to progress to the knockout stages.

Inter have a chance to become the first Italian side to ever beat Barcelona twice in a Champions League campaign when they meet at Camp Nou on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Club Brugge are on the brink of their first trip to the knockout stages as they play Atletico Madrid.

Mohamed Salah can make history with one more Champions League goal for Liverpool on their trip to Scotland to take on Rangers, and Bayern Munich are one win away from their own record as they try to win an 11th consecutive group stage match.

Tottenham will look to break out of a scoring slump when they host Eintracht Frankfurt, while Porto and Bayer Leverkusen are battling it out in Group B.

With plenty of important matchups, Stats Perform has parsed through the data to preview the eight fixtures on Wednesday and shine a light on some of the more interesting angles.

Barcelona v Inter

Inter's 1-0 victory against Barcelona at San Siro last week was their first triumph over the Spanish giants since April 2010, with Barca collecting four wins and one draw since.

With another win, Inter can become the first Italian side to ever beat Barcelona twice in the same Champions League campaign, although they have lost all five of their away fixtures at Camp Nou – their most losses at any away venue in the competition.

In fact, Camp Nou has not been a happy hunting ground for Italian sides in general, with a 3-0 victory for Juventus in 2020 marking the country's only win at the venue in the last 17 tries (L13 D3).

It is not just Barcelona who have given Inter trouble on away days, with their last away win in the Champions League against a Spanish opponent coming back in 2004 against Valencia.

Working in Inter's favour is road warrior Lautaro Martinez, who has scored six of his seven Champions League goals away from home.

Tottenham v Eintracht Frankfurt

After banking four consecutive wins against Borussia Dortmund between 2017 and 2019, Tottenham are now winless in their past five Champions League fixtures against German sides (D1 L4).

On the other side, Eintracht have enjoyed success when travelling to England in European competition, winning both of their previous two attempts – against Arsenal in 2019, and West Ham in April this year – in the Europa League.

However, this is a clear step up from the Europa League, and after winning their first ever Champions League away game last month (1-0 at Marseille), Frankfurt will be looking to become the only German team to ever win their first two away fixtures in the competition.

The 0-0 draw between these two sides in Frankfurt a week ago was the second consecutive Champions League game where Tottenham have failed to score a goal – also losing 2-0 to Sporting. The last time they went three games in the competition without scoring was back in 2011.

Striker Harry Kane will be key, as he boasts the best minutes-per-goal figure – 20 goals in 27 appearances for a goal every 118 minutes – of any English player with at least 10 goals in the Champions League.

Atletico Madrid v Club Brugge

Not many, if any, would have tipped Club Brugge to top Group B ahead of Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen and Porto, but they have defeated all three to lead with a perfect nine points and zero goals conceded.

One more win for Brugge would see them progress past the group stage for the first time, in their 10th Champions League campaign. By defeating Atletico, they would become the first Belgian side since Anderlecht in 2000 to win four games in a row in the competition.

Brugge are also one goal away from matching their highest goal tally from a single Champions League campaign, with eight goals in 2020-21.

Surprisingly, Atletico have struggled at home in the Champions League, snapping a streak of eight games without a win (D5 L3) by defeating Porto this season.

Brugge's Ferran Jutgla has registered a goal and an assist in each of his past two Champions League games, and if he can manage to do it again, he will join Robert Lewandowski and Leroy Sane as the only players since 2003-04 to have a goal and an assist in three straight games in the competition.

Bayer Leverkusen v Porto

With Brugge seemingly cruising, Porto, Leverkusen and Atletico are likely fighting it out for one automatic qualification spot, and Leverkusen will feel good about their chances as Porto are winless in their last seven away games against German teams (D2 L5).

After defeating Atletico at home on the second matchday, Leverkusen will be looking to win consecutive Champions League home fixtures in the same campaign for the first time since 2014.

Patrick Schick is Leverkusen's focal point going forward, attempting more than twice as many shots (12) as any of his team-mates this Champions League season, but he is yet to score, having missed a penalty against Porto in last week's 2-0 loss.

Porto's Mehdi Taremi assisted both goals in the reverse fixture, marking the first time he has been involved in multiple goals in a Champions League game, while the sending-off of Jeremie Frimpong gave Leverkusen their 11th red card in their history in the competition, trailing only Bayern Munich (21) amongst German sides.

Other fixtures:

Napoli v Ajax

5 – Napoli beat Ajax 6-1 in the reverse fixture at Johan Cruyff Arena, with the five-goal margin marking the heaviest defeat Ajax have ever suffered in European competition.

10 – With one more win, Napoli would become the fourth Italian club to ever mount a 10-game unbeaten streak in the Champions League, with six wins and three draws from their past nine fixtures.

Rangers v Liverpool

5 – Rangers have failed to score in their past five European games against English competition, including a 2-0 loss against Liverpool last week.

35 – Mohamed Salah has scored 35 Champions League goals for Liverpool – only Didier Droga (36 for Chelsea) and Sergio Aguero (36 for Manchester City) have scored more for a single Premier League club in the competition.

Sporting v Marseille

9 – Marseille have lost their past nine away fixtures in the Champions League, and with one more loss they would become the sixth team to ever post 10 consecutive away defeats in the competition, and the first from France.

18 – It has been 18 years since Sporting lost a home fixture against a French side in European competition, with that loss coming against Sochaux in the 2004 UEFA Cup.

Viktoria Plzen v Bayern Munich

31 – Bayern Munich are undefeated in their past 31 Champions League group stage matches (28W 3D) – which is an all-time high – and with one more win they will set the new record for consecutive group stage wins with 11.

32 – Viktoria Plzen have faced 32 shots on target in their first three games of this Champions League campaign – more than any other side. In the reverse fixture, Bayern had 13 shots on target.

Jurgen Klopp hopes Mohamed Salah is close to "exploding" into a rich vein of goalscoring form, but believes comparisons with Manchester City talisman Erling Haaland are unfair.

Salah shared the Premier League's Golden Boot with Son Heung-min after scoring 23 goals in the competition last term, but has only found the net twice in seven outings this season.

The Egyptian's diminishing returns have mirrored those of his team, with Liverpool sitting 13 points behind City – with a game in hand – ahead of Sunday's trip to Arsenal.

Haaland's arrival has taken City to new heights this campaign, with the Norwegian hitting 15 goals in his first nine Premier League games, and Klopp believes any comparisons with Salah would be unhelpful.

"With Mo, I hope it's like us, we are close to exploding," Klopp said. "Whose season was it yet? From our side, nobody.

"Mo is like this, even when his goalscoring numbers aren't crazy, often he's involved, it's just the problem that if you don't score around that, nobody appreciates that.

"Nobody in the world can cope with the [Erling] Haaland situation, it's crazy what he's doing. 

"He's an exceptional player in an exceptional team and I don't think we should compare anyone with that at the moment.

"Mo wants to score goals desperately, 100 per cent, that will never change. Call him in 20 years, it will be the same."

Liverpool approach their trip to the Emirates Stadium having recorded two draws and one defeat in their first three away outings of the Premier League campaign.

Not since 2010-11, under Roy Hodgson, have Liverpool failed to win any of their first four away league games in a single season.

Meanwhile, Saturday represented the seventh anniversary of Klopp's appointment at Liverpool, and the German left each of his two previous posts – at Mainz and Borussia Dortmund – before bringing up an eighth year at the helm.

Klopp, however, insisted Liverpool's struggles have nothing in common with those of his former clubs, saying: "The situation in the clubs was very different. 

"A seven-year spell was not planned or because I lost energy or these things. I was manager at Mainz and after three years, we got promoted to the Bundesliga then three years later we got relegated.

"We tried one more year and the club needed a change. Players left us for the Bundesliga, so they needed a fresh start, definitely.

"I was full of energy. I went directly to Dortmund and it was all fine. [It was] seven years and it was just a situation that players constantly got bought by other clubs.

"It was a really hard job to do, instead of developing a team, constantly making two steps back. It was really intense and really exhausting.  

"I can understand that I left after seven years, and now we are in a difficult situation, but, if you think twice about it, you realise the situation is completely different.

"Being here for seven years is intense, no doubt about it. But it's nice as well, I got so many things back. If there's one club that has a chance to go through it together, it's us."

Kylian Mbappe has been named football's highest earner in the world by Forbes magazine, overtaking Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi and Ronaldo had locked out the top spot since 2014, but Mbappe's new deal with Paris Saint-Germain has seen him overtake his PSG team-mate and the Manchester United star.

The France international had been linked with a move to Real Madrid as his previous deal in Paris was set to expire at the end of last season, only for him to sensationally agree to a three-year extension in May to stay at his hometown club.

Forbes' highest earners in football list also takes into account a player's earnings off the field, and Mbappe is not short of significant sponsorship deals, while also starting his own production company in the last year, Zebra Valley.

Messi and Ronaldo are in second and third place as they continue to earn plenty in the autumn years of their careers, while a third PSG player, Neymar, completes the top four.

As well as Ronaldo, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (fifth) and Manchester City duo Erling Haaland (sixth) and Kevin De Bruyne (10th) are the three other Premier League representatives on the list.

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski (seventh) and Madrid's Eden Hazard (eighth) are the only two players from LaLiga.

Former Barca star Andres Iniesta is in ninth, despite leaving Europe to play in Japan in 2018.

2022 Forbes highest earners in football top 10 list

1. Kylian Mbappe - PSG: $128m (£115.2m/€130.9m)

2. Lionel Messi - PSG: $120m (£108.0m/€122.7m)

3. Cristiano Ronaldo - Man Utd: $100m (£90.0m/€102.3m)

4. Neymar - PSG: $87m (£78.3m/€88.9m)

5. Mohamed Salah - Liverpool: $53m (£47.7m/€54.2m)

6. Erling Haaland - Man City: $39m (£35.1m/€39.9m)

7. Robert Lewandowski - Barcelona: $35m (£31.5m/€35.8m)

8. Eden Hazard - Real Madrid: $31m (£27.9m/€31.7m)

9. Andres Iniesta - Vissel Kobe: $30m (£27.0m/€30.7m)

10. Kevin De Bruyne - Man City: $29m (£26.1m/€29.7m)

Liverpool made it back-to-back Champions League wins after a commanding 2-0 victory over Rangers, with Trent Alexander-Arnold scoring the pick of the goals.

Jurgen Klopp's side have been somewhat off the pace this season but soon took the lead at Anfield after an excellent Alexander-Arnold free-kick past Allan McGregor.

Mohamed Salah doubled the lead with a penalty after the interval, with the insipid Rangers thankful to McGregor for preventing Liverpool from inflicting further damage.

Victory kept the Reds a point behind Group A leaders Napoli, who thrashed Ajax in Tuesday's other game, while Rangers remain bottom after yet another disappointing showing in Europe - the Scottish side conceding nine goals in three group stage matches thus far.

McGregor denied a fizzing Darwin Nunez effort after just two minutes, but the Rangers goalkeeper had no chance five minutes later when Alexander-Arnold expertly curled a free-kick into the top-left corner.

Salah saw his whipped attempt tipped away by McGregor, who then produced two smart saves in quick succession against Nunez as Liverpool dominated the first half.

Salah coolly converted a 53rd-minute penalty down the middle after Leon King felled Luis Diaz, while McGregor continued his fine individual performance by parrying over Diogo Jota's ferocious shot minutes later.

Joel Matip headed narrowly wide from a glorious opportunity before Konstantinos Tsimikas cleared off the line after Rabbi Matondo slotted past Alisson in the closing stages, as Liverpool returned to winning ways after a 3-3 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion at the weekend.

What does it mean? Reds stay on the tails of Napoli

Despite a 4-1 humbling at the in-form Napoli on matchday one, Liverpool remain within touching distance of Luciano Spalletti's side at the halfway point in the Champions League group stage.

Ajax are just two points behind Jurgen Klopp's side, but the Reds will feel confident of another victory to bolster their knockout credentials when they return to Rangers next week.

By contrast, Rangers are without a win or a goal in their first three games in Europe this season – a stark difference from their victorious run to the Europa League final last season.

Awesome Alexander-Arnold

Much has been made of Alexander-Arnold's defensive capabilities, but the right-back quietened his critics with his inch-perfect opener; his sixth free-kick goal since the start of the 2016-17 season in all competitions.

No Liverpool player can match his tally in that period, while the strike made Alexander-Arnold the first Reds man to score from direct free-kick in the Champions League since Steven Gerrard against Basel in 2014.

Goal-shy Rangers' problems continue

Rangers have won just of eight European away games in England across all competitions, with that sole victory coming in a 2-1 triumph over Leeds United in 1992.

The Scottish giants may have been beaten Europa League finalists last term, but they failed to score once again here, marking the first time Rangers have not found the net in their opening three Champions League group games.

What's next?

Liverpool return to domestic action away at Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday, while Rangers host St. Mirren in the Scottish Premiership a day prior.

Reigning Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) champions Senegal and continental powerhouse Ivory Coast have been drawn together for the 2022 African Nations Championship (CHAN).

The biennial tournament is due to be held in Algeria in January and February 2023, with 18 teams competing across five groups. The participants must consist only of players playing in their domestic national league competitions.

Group B looms as the toughest with Senegal drawn alongside two-time AFCON winners Ivory Coast, as well as DR Congo and Uganda. DR Congo missed out on 2022 World Cup qualification in the playoffs to Morocco.

Hosts Algeria are in Group A with 2014 winners Libya, Ethiopia and Mozambique, while Morocco, who have lifted the past two African Nations Championship titles, are in Group C with Ghana, Sudan and Madagascar.

Mali, Angola and Mauritania are in Group D and Cameroon, Congo and Niger make up Group E.

Egypt, who lost last year's AFCON final to Senegal, along with 2022 World Cup participants Tunisia did not enter, while Nigeria failed to qualify.

Emile Heskey has dismissed Liverpool's title chances because he fears they will be unable to keep pace with "relentless" Manchester City.

The Premier League returns this weekend, with City already flying high and on the coat-tails of early leaders Arsenal.

Pep Guardiola's City team are undefeated with five wins and two draws so far, plus a league-high goal difference of plus 17, six better than any other side.

By contrast, Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool have won only two of six games to date, struggling to match the high standards they set when pushing City all the way to the final day in last season's championship.

Former Reds striker Heskey declared Liverpool are "probably not" in this season's title race, telling Stats Perform: "I think their main focus is top four now because Champions League is a must.

"I think City are relentless. Give them an inch, they'll take a mile. They know how to exploit things.

"They might be 1-0 down, but you know that they're going to come back. And this is the relentlessness that I think Liverpool had a couple of seasons ago, and they're trying to get back now.

"I don't think it's going to be a particularly bad season getting into the top four, I think it is still massive."

Heskey said "everyone knows" losing Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich amounted to "a huge miss" for Liverpool, with the sale having gone through in late June, ending a six-year Anfield stay for the Senegalese forward.

Former England international Heskey rates Luis Diaz and is hopeful Mohamed Salah will roar back to Golden Boot form, having made a somewhat underwhelming start to the campaign, with two goals and two assists in six league games.

"The thing with Mo, is we are so used to it," Heskey said of the Egyptian's prolific scoring. "But when it wasn't Mo, we had another person that could take up that mantle.

"And if you haven't got that other person to take up that mantle, who will get you the goals that Mo used to as well, you can then start pointing back at Mo and saying, 'Well, he's not doing this, he's not doing that'.

"But the pressures come with that and he understands that, and he's able to get on with that and deal with it. He's a fantastic player.

"I think just give him the ball and let him go and enjoy himself again. When you saw Mo Salah smiling, that's when you know that you've got something good. Even when he's missing chances and he's smiling, you know that he's on form."

Liverpool face Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday, their first domestic game in four weeks, after two postponements in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II's death were followed by the international break.

Darwin Nunez has yet to show his peak Benfica form in a Liverpool shirt since switching from the Portuguese giants in the close season, but Heskey suspects the talent is there for the Uruguayan striker to become a "phenomenal" Premier League performer.

As was the case with a pair of Arsenal greats, Heskey feels Nunez could come good after a settling-in period.

Heskey said: "He's still a young player and one thing we've got to understand is, these players coming from abroad who are coming and adapting, not all of them adapt straight away.

"It's a bit of an anomaly for the ones who just come in and just fit straight in.

"You need to give them time. You've got to remember Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry didn't just fit in and click straight away, and we're talking about Premier League greats. So give him the opportunity, and give them the time to settle in. I know we don't have time, but give them time to settle in and he will be a phenomenal player."

Darwin Nunez will "score a lot of goals and show his talent" despite a tough start to his Liverpool career, says ex-Reds midfielder Mohamed Sissoko.

Striker signing Nunez, who scored on his Premier League debut against Fulham, has failed to add to his tally following a three-match ban for a red card against Crystal Palace in August.

But Sissoko – a Liverpool player for three years under Rafael Benitez – is confident the Uruguay forward simply needs time to adapt.

"It's not easy to play in the Premier League. It's a big difference between the Portuguese league and the Premier League," Sissoko told Stats Perform.

"If Liverpool spent a lot of money for this player, it's because he has quality. I'm sure he's going to score a lot of goals and show his talent, because he has talent."

Liverpool are down in eighth place in the Premier League after a disappointing start to the season in which they dropped points against Fulham, Palace, Manchester United and Everton.

And Nunez is not the only player to have struggled, with fellow forward Mohamed Salah criticised in scoring only twice in six league matches.

But Sissoko feels Salah's team-mates are as much to blame, adding: "It depends on the team also. When you play well, when you score, you make lots of good things, it depends on the team, not one player.

"The team has to play well, and after Mo Salah is going to show his talent."

With a tough run of fixtures ahead and with only two clean sheets so far, Liverpool will also need to improve defensively if they are to climb the table. 

When asked about Liverpool's back line and recent scrutiny of Virgil van Dijk, Sissoko said: "He's still one of the best defenders in Europe.

"[Just] because he's not playing well in one game or three games, you can't say he's a poor player. He has quality.

"He's captain of the Netherlands national team, he plays for Liverpool, and he's shown everyone he's a good player. He's a leader also. 

"Sometimes in football, [things] happen. Sometimes you play well, sometimes you play not good, but I'm sure after the international break all the team is going to win and [take] Liverpool higher."

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