Steven Gerrard sends wordless message to Xabi Alonso after emotional Liverpool return

Steven Gerrard sent a message to Xabi Alonso after the former Liverpool midfielder returned to Anfield on Tuesday.

Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen, who romped to the Bundesliga title last season, have endured a more challenging start to this campaign and were thrashed 4-0 by Arne Slot's side in the Champions League. Luis Diaz scored a hat-trick on a memorable night, with Cody Gakpo also netting for the Reds.

Victory for the Reds means they move to the top of the Champions League with four wins from their opening four matches. Liverpool, alongside Aston Villa, are the only teams who have a 100 percent record in this season's competition.

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As for Alonso, it wasn't the return to Merseyside he was quite hoping for, but Leverkusen still boast a decent record, picking up seven points from their first four Champions League games.

After the game, Gerrard, who managed Al-Ettifaq to a much-needed 1-0 win over Al Qadsia on Tuesday, took to social media to post a short but brief message to former Liverpool teammate Alonso.

In an Instagram story, Gerrard responded to a video of Liverpool showing Alonso arriving at Anfield with a star-struck emoji and a red love heart emoji.

It was clear that Alonso found his return to Liverpool emotional, especially after his side were on the wrong end of a drubbing in the end. Despite the scoreline, Alonso was pleased with Leverkusen's first-half performance but felt that his team were not able to show enough 'power' to get a positive result.

"First half, we were pretty good," Alonso told Amazon Prime post-match. "Second half, the first 10 minutes, we were not so good. We were not able to keep the ball that well and find players in the right positions.

"Our intensity in defence because of the lack of possession got a little bit lower, and we weren't squeezing that much, so that's how we conceded the first goal. And when you concede the second knock after two minutes, that was hard for us.

"It is painful, the result more than the performance probably, but this is the Champions League. This is the highest level. It wasn't enough for us.

"It can happen at Anfield that you lose and for sure to lose 4-0 it is not nice. It is hard because at 2-0 we were trying to fight for the one ball that would give us hope. But Liverpool with spaces, they are a top team for that and we were punished for the last two goals.

"It was a risk we had to take but before that, it was a pity. If we managed 1-0 for 15-20 minutes and not straight to 2-0, we were alive and anything could happen."