Arne Slot praised the efficiency of his Liverpool team when they pushed Ipswich Town aside and secured a 4-1 Premier League win in Anfield.
The team of Slot has now expanded their undefeated home series in the competition to nine games – in which Nottingham Forest has still won on Anfield since the start of the Dutchman at Merseyside – and the hosts made easy work of The relegation-fighting tractor boys on the Merseyside.
This season Liverpool scored more points (26) and victories (eight) than any other team, while today it was the first time that they scored four or more goals in the competition this season.
Now that the plan of Ipswich was set up to frustrate Liverpool from the start, the changing team of Slot only needed 11 minutes to take the lead when Dominik Szoboszlai fired the opener.
Goals from Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo brought the score to 3-0 before half time, when the rear of Ipswich was simply dismantled by the leader.
Gakpo added a second goal after the restart, before Jacob Greaves saved a late consolation for Ipswich, and Slot praised the ruthlessness of his players to effectively do the job before the whistle signal of the tranquility on their own soil.
“Today is the way you want to start a match. We were aggressive and dominant. They were not in our half for 85 minutes. We were all disappointed when we had to admit from a corner for the first time this season,” Slot told the BBC. Sport.
“Just like in the match against Lille, we hardly got any opportunities or counterattacks, which is not easy against a team that plays in a layer of block.
“We get goals from all positions, from over the front line, but it is also nice to see stupid [Szoboszlai] Scoring, because we also need goals from midfield. We must continue to offer these opportunities, because these players will score goals for us. “
Now that Liverpool has already sealed its place in the eighth finals of the UEFA Champions League, it is expected that Slot will change his basic setup at PSV Eindhoven again halfway through the week, before he will be a difficult trip to the in form Bournemouth in the competition next weekend to make.
A selfie from the Reds on the competition form pic.twitter.com/kqf2pbhebb
– Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 25, 2025
Although he saw his team slipping into a third consecutive Premier League defeat, Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was pragmatic about both his expectations prior to the game and the impact of a loss on Anfield.
“It was another difficult game for us, but there was positivity in the way we ended it. I didn't think we were under enormous pressure in the first half, but Liverpool is clinical and we don't have our box good enough defended.
“Everyone comes here with a plan, but if they make such a first goal, it is very difficult. I have to give my players the honor for how they lasted in the second half.”
“We have to do a number of things better than in the first half. I know it is halfway through the season, but this is the first time since Gamweek Six that the rear four are together.”
McKenna's comments indicate that he knows that Ipswich's urge to survive will not be determined by their ability to achieve results at Liverpool and other title profits, but by teams that compete in the relegation zone.
The following for the Tractor Boys is a home game next weekend with the Southampton low point, in what could be a decisive showdown on Portman Road, where the Saints have only achieved six points this season.
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