Liverpool returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over West Ham United at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Alexander Isak opened the scoring for the visitors at the hour mark after he met Cody Gakpo’s cutback cross to give Liverpool the deserved lead.
The Sweden striker got his first Premier League goal for Liverpool since his record-breaking £130m summer move from Newcastle United.
In the 84th minute, Lucas Paqueta was sent off for two quick bookings for dissent after arguing with the referee for an earlier foul.
Gakpo doubled the visitors’ advantage deep into stoppage time after Joe Gomez fired in a cross and the Dutchman beautifully controlled it with his chest before finishing past Areola.
Arne Slot’s post-match interview with Sky Sports:
On Alexander Isak’s first Premier League goal: “I think it does feel significant. I wasn’t planning to give him many more minutes [before bringing him off].
“There’s definitely a feeling of relief because if you have lost so many times, then winning is important. We hardly conceded a chance. We were able to create chances ourselves. In other games we gave away a lot more than we did today.
“It helps if you don’t go 1-0 down after five minutes because then you are more open. We played the game I wanted us to play.
“What I saw meant a lot to our players and our fans. The fans had to travel a long way to support a team that has been performing poorly. On Wednesday we face Sunderland. It’s a very busy schedule for everyone. This is a good first step for us – that we won and had a clean sheet.”
The Reds host high-flying Sunderland at Anfield on Wednesday in their next Premier League fixture.