Liverpool manager Arne Slot boiled his side’s return to winning ways down to a very simple but big difference: set pieces.
The reigning Premier League champions limped into Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Eintracht Frankfurt on the back of four straight defeats. Not since 1953 had the club lost five on the spin. While there were clear defensive issues at play during these losses, Slot routinely bemoaned his side’s lack of dead-ball efficiency.
Liverpool threatened to write an unwanted piece of history as Frankfurt raced into an early lead, sweeping from one end of the pitch to the other as Rasmus Kristensen fired the hosts in front.
Hugo Ekitiké hauled Liverpool level against his former employers within 10 minutes of the opener, shortly before Virgil van Dijk completed the turnaround from a source which Slot greatly appreciated.
Liverpool’s skipper thumped in a header from a 39th-minute corner. Ibrahima Konaté added third from another set piece before the first-half break, setting the foundations for a comfortable—and much-needed—5–1 win.
“We were able to score two set pieces and that made a big, big difference,” Slot beamed postgame.
“The main difference between this game and the four before was that in most of them, the other team scored from a set piece and this time, we scored from two set pieces,” the Dutch boss added.
However, it wasn’t an entirely complete performance from the Reds. “We created a few chances before we conceded and the first chance we conceded was immediately a goal,” Slot sighed. “In the end it turned out to be the only chance we conceded. Why was that? Because we went 3-1 up, so then it’s easier to control the game when you’re 1-0 down all the time.”
“We needed a win,” he concluded. “What we needed more was another performance where we create a lot of chances but the players get the reward with a win. That’s what happened today.”
