Liverpool got their first win in five games on Wednesday with an excellent 3-0 Champions League victory over Marseille.
The Reds were under some pressure heading into the match after squandering another lead against Burnley on Saturday.
But Liverpool have been far better in Europe this season, and despite facing a difficult home crowd at the Stade Velodrome, Arne Slot’s team stood up and recorded an impressive win.
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Who was your man of the match during the win over Marseille?
Nice to have a few contenders!
Olympique Marseille v Liverpool - UEFA Champions League
Photo by Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates /Getty Images
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There was lots to like about Liverpool on the night, from a display from a new-look back four to Mohamed Salah’s re-emergence into the team.
As he assessed what the three points mean for Liverpool at full-time, though, Steven Gerrard was absolutely right that the most pleasing thing for Slot will have been his team’s ability to go on and get the second and third goals.
Liverpool finally take the game away from their opposition
One of the big frustrations about watching Liverpool this season has been their ability to throw matches away having seemingly won them.
The Reds have given so many equalisers away recently, late or otherwise, with Saturday being the latest example of Slot’s men drawing a game they had virtually won.
Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo and Hugo Ekitike salute Liverpool fans after their UEFA Champions League win over Marseille at the Stade Velodrome
Photo by Stuart Franklin – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
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As a result, speaking to TNT Sports, Gerrard sounded as relieved as any Liverpool fan watching to see the Reds take the game away from Marseille in the second-half on Wednesday.
“The most pleasing thing for Arne will be, obviously the clean sheet, but taking the game away from Marseille,” said the Scouser.
“They had a few break aways where Liverpool looked a bit open, but a really solid performance and killing the game off will be important.”
Who did it better?
Szoboszlai or Gerrard?
Dominik Szoboszlai scores with a free-kick during Liverpool's UEFA Champions League match against Marseille at the Stade Velodrome (Credit: Getty Images/Justin Setterfield).
Steven Gerrard scores for Liverpool during their UEFA Champions League match against Marseille at the Stade Velodrome (Getty Images/Clive Brunskill).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Justin Setterfield/Clive Brusnkill
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Liverpool must learn to kill matches
Liverpool have shown their quality many times over the past three matches, with the Burnley draw being preceded by a much better game against Arsenal.
The standard of their players has never been in question, rather, they simply cannot seem to play well for a full 90 minutes.
They do not necessarily need to do that to win more matches, but they must capitalise more on when they are on top in games.
They did that on Wednesday, but they have done that other times in the Champions League this season, too. The challenge for Slot and his players is to now take this into the Premier League as well.
The performance in Marseille was a good step towards that, and a really pleasing one at that.
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