Trent Alexander-Arnold's fabulous free-kick set Liverpool on their way to a confidence-boosting 2-0 Champions League win over Rangers at Anfield
The full-back's form has been much discussed but he lit up the night with a wonderful effort to fire Liverpool ahead before Mohamed Salah scored from the spot after Luis Diaz was fouled by Leon King
 It only hinted at the total dominance of Jurgen Klopp's side
The result maintains Liverpool's grip on second spot in Champions League Group A at the halfway stage, while Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side find themselves languishing at the foot of the table without a point or even a goal from their three games so far
Klopp's response to his team's defensive frailties of late was to remove Fabinho and introduce an additional forward to the starting line-up
 Salah was joined by Diaz, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez
 The best form of defence and all that
Amid a crackling Anfield atmosphere, that is how it proved as his Liverpool side took the game to Rangers from the outset
 Nunez fired off a smart shot
 Kostas Tsimikas raided forward well and it was his pass that saw the Uruguayan fouled for the key free-kick
There was plenty to do but Alexander-Arnold makes those look easy, whipping the ball beyond Allan McGregor with ease
 After all the focus on his defensive weaknesses, this was a reminder that he is a player who can do things that other players cannot
It blew Rangers' game-plan apart
 Confidence had been restored by a healthy victory over Hearts but memories of those heavy defeats to Celtic, Ajax and Napoli would have lingered
 Would this team wilt again when up against a higher class of opponent?They were able to hang in there but the chances kept coming for Liverpool with most of them seeming to fall to Nunez
 It has been a moderate start to his Liverpool career since joining from Benfica in the summer but his movement was on point here and he looked a real threat
What his performance lacked was a goal
 Perhaps he should have done better when firing his shot too close to McGregor from the left channel but that galloping stride ensured the next opportunity was never far away
 Rangers simply could not cope with him
It was Diaz instead who opened up the away side to fashion the second, darting between defenders before being brought down by King
 Salah stepped up to take the penalty and went down the middle when McGregor dived left for his fifth goal of the season
It was a chastening defeat for Rangers, the gulf illustrated by the fact they did not muster their first shot on target until Antonio Colak tested Alisson inside the final five minutes
 For Liverpool, for Alexander-Arnold, it was just the sort of night that was needed
Even before the ball had been struck, there was a sense around Anfield that this was heading for the corner
 Such is the confidence in Alexander-Arnold with time to pick out his spot
 It showed his quality and put the focus back on his tremendous talent
And yet, maybe this is a dance that we are destined to do throughout his career
 Liverpool's dominant display against Rangers did not test Alexander-Arnold defensively and it is on that aspect of the game that the criticism is focused
 This told us nothing new
What it did highlight once more is that this is a special player, one who can win games for one of the best teams in the world from full-back
 He might have had an assist too had Virgil van Dijk not glanced his header wide
 He left to a standing ovation
 It was deserved
"It was the game that we wanted to play, a really good defensive performance in the new structure," said Klopp
"The goalie made some good saves, we missed some
 The two goals we scored were really nice
 In the end, Rangers came up a little bit but it was one situation really where Ali had to make a save
"Liverpool have faced criticism after a slow start to the Premier League season that has left them 11 points behind leaders Arsenal already but the manager saw positive signs here
"The criticism is completely fine
 We are not over the moon about our situation but we played some really good games not so long ago and Champions League games at Anfield are usually enjoyable," he added
"I saw a team tonight that is fully committed and that is what I liked
""We knew it was going to be a very difficult game," said Van Bronckhorst
"The threat they had, players making runs almost every time
 The plan to play five at the back was a good one to narrow those spaces
"In the first half we were still in it, only one goal
 We picked the moments much better in the second half when to go up the pitch and cause pressure to them
 Those moments were more frequent
 But it is always disappointment to lose two goals to set-pieces
"We had chances to make it 2-1
 Antonio has a chance, maybe he should have taken it earlier
 But the level we face is very high and our level was not good enough tonight
"Liverpool travel to Arsenal on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Premier League from 4pm; kick-off 4
30pm
Rangers host St Mirren at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday; kick-off 3pm
The return fixture between Rangers and Liverpool at Ibrox follows the weekend games on Wednesday October 12; kick-off 8pm
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