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Aside from the mistake of not realising how fast Stevan Jovetic was closing on him, leading to an embarrassing whiff and Manchester City's first goal, Alberto Moreno delivered a strong debut performance two weekends ago. The player, though, couldn't let that one mistake go, and when he had the chance a week on he knew he had to make up for it.
"After making my debut and losing against City I had a point to make," said Moreno when asked what he was thinking when he stole the ball from Tottenham's Andros Townsend the next week. "When I stole the ball from Townsend and saw a way through, all I could think about was getting to their goal and scoring. I didn't care how many metres I had to run."
If anybody watching at that point had had any doubts about the impact Moreno could make, it's a run that would have quashed them. Few, though, would have had doubts. His debut, away to the defending league champions, had been solid and promising at the very least, prominent mistake or no. And before his second half goal against Spurs he had been even better.
The goal, then, was fitting reward on a day when he was already in the running with Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson to be Liverpool's man of the match before he scored it. When the international break ends he'll have the chance to further lock down a place in the starting eleven, but he's already looking forward to what comes after Aston Villa—the Champions League.
"Playing in the Champions League is going to be amazing," he said. "It's all new for me and I'm really looking forward to it. Plus, we have Real Madrid at Anfield and I'll be wearing Liverpool's colours. It's going to be a unique experience. I saw the trophy at Melwood and I got goose bumps. Hopefully we can win it this year. Hopefully that day will come."
Coming from Sevilla, a club with a history of clashing with their more famous neighbours to the north, getting the chance to try get one past the Spanish giants will be important to a player like Moreno. First, though, Moreno and Liverpool get a chance to ease into the Champions League action with a home date against Ludogorets on September 16th.
Following that, they'll head off to Switzerland to face Basel on October 1st before welcoming Los Blancos to Anfield for a headlining matchday three in Group B. And if his first two matches in England are anything to go by, there's not going to be any question who starts at left back for Liverpool when they come to town.
