Arne Slot claimed his Liverpool team have played better than they did in the thrashing of West Ham but still lost and his players insist they are gearing up for a big end to the season
Jeremie Frimpong of Liverpool celebrates scoring his team's fifth goal with teammate Cody Gakpo during the Premier League match between Liverpool and West Ham United at Anfield on February 28, 2026 in Liverpool, England.
Cody Gakpo scored and Jeremie Frimpong forced an own goal in Liverpool's emphatic win over West Ham(Image: Getty Images)
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Considering his team has a favourite’s chance of reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League, is going strongly in the FA Cup and has some momentum in the Premier League, Arne Slot still looks like a manager under a spot of pressure. And considering his team won the Premier League last season, that seems a bit harsh, but there is no doubt Slot needs a good final three months of the campaign.
Cody Gakpo thinks it could be more than good. He said: “Step by step, we’re getting to be a better team. We had a difficult moment during the season, but hopefully these last few games are the start of something beautiful.”
Including the FA Cup victory over Brighton, Liverpool have won their last four games, scoring ten and conceding only twice. But even when scoring a handful against a self-destructive West Ham, it has not been beautiful.
In the dismantling of Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, there were two goals that owed a lot to deflections (Hugo Ekitike’s opener and Gakpo’s hit for number four), one own goal (from Axel Disasi for Liverpool’s fifth), and two conversions of corner-kicks (the second and third goals from Virgil van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister). The scoreboard was beautiful, the performance was not.
But it WAS highly effective. The only surprise was that Liverpool conceded quite a few chances, a couple of which were taken, Tomas Soucek and Taty Castellanos both reducing the arrears to two at stages of the second half.
Liverpool's Dutch manager Arne Slot looks on during the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and West Ham United at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on February 28, 2026.
Arne Slot has seen his team win their last three Premier League matches(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
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Despite going three goals to the good before half-time, Anfield was not exactly rocking but late cameos from Jeremie Frimpong, who forced the own goal, and 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha certainly got a few to their feet. A buzz was back.
Liverpool’s next three games could be season-defining. They travel to Wolves for a Premier League match and then for an FA Cup fifth round tie and then go to Istanbul for the first leg of their Champions League tie against Galatasary.
Alexis Mac Allister of Liverpool celebrates scoring his team's third goal with teammate Hugo Ekitike during the Premier League match between Liverpool and West Ham United at Anfield on February 28, 2026 in Liverpool, England
Alexis Mac Allister and Hugo Ekitike were amongst the Liverpool scorers in the 5-2 win over West Ham(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
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And Mac Allister believes this is the crucial time when Slot’s team can click into another gear, saying: “The last four or five months is when teams show what they can do. That is what we want.
"We know how important it is to qualify for the Champions League for the club and us as a team. The goal is there and we are going to do everything to qualify and be closer to the teams at the top.”
In that bid to be closer to the teams at the top, set-pieces are clearly going to be very important. And Liverpool appear to finally have that side of the game cracked. Seven of Liverpool’s last nine goals have come from set-pieces - five from corners, one from a direct free-kick and one from a throw-in.
Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Liverpool and West Ham United at Anfield on February 28, 2026 in Liverpool, England.
Virgil van Dijk was on target for the third time in his last six Premier League games(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
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Slot said: “It was very pleasing. Firstly, because that is the reason we won. Second of all, people said well played and in my opinion, we have been better when we lost and better when we conceded from set-pieces.
“The first half of the season, almost every set-piece we conceded went in. Now, we start scoring from set-pieces and things start looking brighter and better than when you don’t.” Indeed. You could even say that things might even start to look beautiful again.
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