REDS BACK IN BUSINESS

FOR an hour, it was a familiar tale of one particular man holding back a red tide, of one goalkeeper revelling in this classic fixture.

- BY ANDY DUNN

But even in the sort of form that thwarted Liverpool in the Champions League final of 2022, Thibaut Courtois could not deny an irresistible Liverpool.

Crisis? What crisis? The victory margin was narrow but the performance was mighty.

A clean sheet and win over Aston Villa and a clean sheet and a win over Real Madrid means we can call an end to the hysteria about Arne Slot’s slump.

And this was also proof that Liverpool can be as effective without Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was booed when he came on asa late substitute.

Inevitably, the whole Trent thing took on a distinctly pantomime feel - in fact, it was mildly amusing.

Hearing the jeers cannot have been nice for him but it could have been worse — he could have been playing right-back for Liverpool and having his head spun and blood twisted by Vinicius Junior.