Jurgen Klopp said the mood around Liverpool has improved after Mohamed Salah came off the bench to score the fastest hat-trick in Champions League history in Wednesday’s 7-1 thrashing of Rangers at Ibrox.
When Scott Arfield shot the Glasgow giants into an early lead, the Reds had won only four of their first 11 games of the season and were down for the eighth time this season.
Rangers, on their return to the Champions League for the first time in 12 years, were schooled by a record-equaling European defeat in the second half.
The Glasgow giants are still winless after conceding 16 goals in four games.
“The first half and the last half an hour was night and day,” said Van Bronckhorst. “I cannot explain it.
“The performance was not the way we want to represent this club.”
Roberto Firmino’s double either side of halftime turned the game around before teeing up Darwin Nunez to seal the victory.
Klopp had rested Salah, Thiago Alcantara, and Diogo Jota in preparation for Sunday’s Premier League match against Manchester City.
However, they were introduced in the final quarter, and Salah took advantage of the opportunity to score against a struggling Rangers defence.
The Egyptian’s treble came in six minutes and 12 seconds, breaking the previous record set by Bafetimbi Gomis in Lyon’s 7-1 victory over Dinamo Zagreb in 2011.
“It changes the mood definitely, and that’s good,” said Klopp. “We all know who is coming on Sunday. That will be different, but it’s better to go in with the feeling from tonight.
“When we play to our potential we’re a pretty good football team. That’s what we showed tonight.”
Harvey Elliott completed the scoring on a depressing night for a Rangers team that had only a few months earlier reached the Europa League final.
A draw in Amsterdam will be enough for Liverpool to advance to the last 16 against Ajax in two weeks.
However, Napoli maintain their lead in Group A after a 4-2 victory over Ajax secured their place in the knockout stages.
