The Reds crushed Maribor from the first whistle. They took lead in the fourth minute, when Salah robbed Viler of the ball, sprinted into the penalty box and passed the ball to Fermino, who tapped into the net. The visitors had sealed their victory by the 20th minute, following goals by Coutinho and Salah.
Devastated Maribor were unable to keep up with lively Liverpool, who battered their opponents with a high rhythm of play. Salah and Fermino each scored twice.
Darko Milanič, the Maribor coach, said after the defeat: "It was not about our formation, we were simply awful today. This was clear from the first pass; the first goal limited us greatly and we were too weak throughout the game. But when I take another look at the game and reflect upon it – it was this very formation and these boys who brought us to the Champions League. Today, we were far worse than our opponents. But I am convinced that, in an ideal state, we would have played an excellent game even against Liverpool. In our league, we need to look for solutions in attack, but then you can also come across opponents, such as Spartak, Sevilla and Liverpool, against whom you have to know how to defend. I added another midfielder in the second half, but nevertheless, it turned out we knew exactly where not to play, but a bad moment led to us being punished".