Changed Liverpool back to winning ways against Rangers

Jurgen Klopp's tactical tweak earned Liverpool a welcome 2-0 Champions League win and only Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor prevented a greater margin of victory in a one-sided affair at Anfield.

The 40-year-old former Scotland international was by far the busiest player for the visitors, who even against out-of-sorts opposition struggled to bridge the gulf between the Scottish Premiership and Premier League.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side arrived on Merseyside encouraged by Liverpool's inconsistent form and incoherent defending but Klopp's decision to switch formations in order to solve a mini-crisis of confidence had the desired effect.

They were undoubtedly helped by a team who struggled to retain possession let alone make any progress in the attacking third but were never under the kind of pressure which saw Brighton score three here at the weekend to prompt Klopp's change of plan.

That they did not score more than Trent Alexander-Arnold's free-kick and Mohamed Salah's penalty early in each half owed plenty to McGregor, who made four first-half saves from Darwin Nunez alone.

Liverpool's Uruguay international has not scored since the opening day of the Premier League season but after a pep talk from Klopp and his coaching staff he was restored to the focal point of the attack and did a good job of reacquainting himself with the competition in which his performances for Benfica last season contributed to his £64million summer transfer.

The victory, coupled with Ajax's defeat to Group A leaders Napoli, opened up a three-point cushion to the Dutch side and a win at Ibrox next week would go a long way to securing their progress to the knockout stage.

For Rangers, however, their wait for a first Champions League goal in 12