Ian Doyle with the verdict from Deutsche Bank Park after Liverpool's Champions League match against Eintracht Frankfurt
Ian Doyle has covered Liverpool for more than 20 years, following them across Europe in multiple Champions League and Europa League finals and as far afield as Thailand, Singapore, the United States, Hong Kong and Qatar, and has reported on the Reds winning every major honour. He previously also covered Everton for 18 years and followed England, reporting on the European Championships and World Cup final. Once had to tell Jude Law he does not drive a Mini.
Florian Wirtz shone as Liverpool impressed in Germany
Florian Wirtz shone as Liverpool impressed in Germany(Image: Getty Images)
View Image
This was definitely worth the wait for Liverpool. And now Arne Slot will hope his new-look team have finally achieved lift-off this season.
Having been delayed by four hours before jetting out to Germany for this Champions League clash, Slot’s side delivered their best performance of a fitful campaign with a thumping victory at Eintracht Frankfurt.
It ensured Liverpool avoided the ignominy of becoming the first Reds side since 1953 to lose five consecutive matches following a miserable month.
More importantly for Slot, though, was this was a victory in which several of his big-money summer signings proved influential.
Author avatar
Author avatar
Hugo Ekitike, a £79million arrival, netted a sixth goal of the season against his former club, while £116m man Florian Wirtz was outstanding in an unaccustomed right-wing position in which he provided two assists.
Frankfurt, free-scoring in the Bundesliga but defensively suspect, were ultimately exactly the opponent Liverpool needed to bolster confidence after so many recent narrow setbacks.
That said, the German outfit did thump Galatasaray 5-1 in their previous Champions League match at the Deutsche Bank Park, where here the majority of the 58,700 crowd backed their team from first minute from last. It made for a lively atmosphere.
Wirtz will surely be regarded the main positive by Slot. If there was undoubted comfort in being back playing in his homeland, the Germany international played very much as if with a point to prove after such a difficult start to his Anfield career.
This was the kind of performance in which Liverpool have invested so much money for Wirtz to deliver. Given licence to drift in from the flank, no attacking player had more touches and nobody played more key passes.
That the 22-year-old laid on goals for Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai in the second half – his first assists since the Community Shield – merely copper-bottomed his stellar showing.
With Liverpool operating in a 4-4-2 formation, Szoboszlai assumed another new position as part of a midfield two alongside Curtis Jones with Ryan Gravenberch absent due to the twisted ankle suffered against Manchester United at the weekend.
And while both assumed the extra responsibility - with 122 completed passes, Jones had the most of any Liverpool player in a Champions League game since such records began in 2003 - the Hungarian perhaps just edged his team-mate, eager to get stuck in when required and continuing the trajectory of his excellent campaign.
The experiment of shifting Szoboszlai to right-back must now be ended, the player far too important in the central midfield area.
That said, Liverpool’s options in that part of the defence have been compromised by Jeremie Frimpong suffering another hamstring complaint, forced off in the 19th minute after a fitful display. Fortune certainly hasn’t favoured Frimpong since moving to Merseyside.
There will also be worries £125m British record signing Alexander Isak, after twice coming close to scoring, became visibly affected by a groin problem that led to his substitution during the interval.
Given Isak has been playing catch-up with his fitness since arriving at Liverpool at the start of September, a spell out would be particularly untimely at such a key juncture of the campaign.
This, though, was otherwise an evening in which Liverpool comprehensively dragged their season back on track and left themselves in a solid position in the Champions League opening stage.
Sunday’s dismal home defeat to United, along with this trip to Germany being the second of seven key games in 22 days, meant Slot was compelled to rotate his resources, Mohamed Salah notably among those benched.
It also prompted the change of system for Liverpool – and the tactical gamble from the Reds boss paid off handsomely.
After some early teething troubles – Giorgi Mamardashvili’s strong hand kept out a low Jean-Matteo Bahoya shot – the visitors grasped control with Isak twice prompting saves from Frankfurt goalkeeper Michael Zetterer.
Liverpool, though, once again fell behind in disappointing fashion on 26 minutes, dragged across to their right in attempting to stop a home counter-attack to leave Rasmus Kristensen space to score into the bottom corner.
The difference to recent weeks was the blistering nine-minute spell before the break in which three goals shifted momentum decisively in favour of the visitors.
The first on 35 minutes owed much to Andy Robertson’s vision and execution, intercepting a wayward Nathaniel Brown cross on the edge of his own area and instantly releasing Ekitike to run 60 yards on goal before slipping the ball under Zetterer, his celebrations subsequently muted in front of his former adoring fanbase.
Liverpool’s steady stream of corners then proved fruitful as they finally answered Slot’s continued calls for more goals from set-pieces.
Both owed much to poor Frankfurt marking as first Virgil van Dijk and then Ibrahima Konate were left free to powerfully head home from deliveries by Cody Gakpo and Szoboszlai respectively.
Liverpool began to enjoy themselves in the second half. Substitute Conor Bradley struck the post before Wirtz laid on a tap-in for Gakpo in the 66th minute and teed up Szoboszlai four minutes later for a drive into the bottom corner.
Towards the end, the travelling Liverpool supporters could be heard chanting the name of Slot, mere days after some sections of social media were bizarrely contemplating the Dutchman being given the axe.
One result won’t solve all the Reds problems. But this was a much-needed reminder Liverpool may not be so bad after all.