Liverpool came out victorious on Saturday over Brighton for their first pair of consecutive wins since the start of November.
Hugo Ekitike was the star of the show, as the striker's brace helped Arne Slot further calm any doubts of his position at the club.
It was another convincing win for LFC as for the second time this week, the Reds completely controlled the match flow with five minutes here and there where Brighton created multiple chances.
Slot has come under fire over the course of this season, with his tactics and man management being questioned by both fans and players. However, after two tricky wins from two, what did we see from Arne Slot and his team in the fixture against Brighton to continue going forward?
Positive Mindset from Minute One
We saw the first goal come from a complete team press that stayed throughout the game, it was scenes from the Klopp days with the monstrous pressing we saw under the German. Slot had a clear plan for this match, and it was executed to perfection.
The goal came from Wirtz chasing a pass he misplaced leading to the Brighton player hurrying his clearance and allowing Joe Gomez to nick in and head it into Ekitike’s path.
From then on Liverpool dominated the first half and only conceded a couple chances to the visitors.
The forced substitution Slot had to make when Gomez went down, it could have been Ramsey he brought on or potentially Robertson, but he decided to pile on the pressure and stay in this forward-thinking mode for the night and re-introduced Mo Salah into the team.
It has been a knock on Slot and his tactics this season, that at times, he has been to narrowminded and reluctant to take a game by the scruff of the neck and run away with it.
Saturday’s result showed that he has that ruthless edge and will win at any cost.
Mo Salah’s Introduction
The talking point of the footballing world for the past week has been Salah’s position at the club; will he play for LFC again? Is it a sour end to a beautiful LFC tenure for Mo? All questions were answered in the 26th minute as the Egyptian made his return to Anfield replacing the injured Gomez.
It really felt like a big moment when Slot turned to Salah as the replacement, not only in this match, but potentially saving Mo’s time at the club.
Salah will now leave the club to prepare for the AFCON, where he will be hoping to finally lift the trophy for his country.
He will potentially miss eight games for Liverpool over the busy international period, and will only return to Anfield after the 18th January if he and Egypt reach the final.
Back to the Brighton match though, Slot made a big call bringing the winger on, showing fans and the world that this feud may have been resolved for now and the both parties are more interested in the success of the team over their own personal vendettas.
Salah made an instant impact, as he was played through on the right wing and weighted a lovely pass into the path of Mac Allister, only for the Argentine to fluff his lines and let the chance go begging.
It wasn’t only the first minutes of his introduction, the whole match had a Salah touch to it, something we haven’t seen all season from the goalscoring winger.
His linkup play, dribbling and quality on the ball all seemed to be at a better level and allowed him and the team to play with freedom and style.
This doesn’t just look good for Salah but also Slot, as the Dutchman was under pressure and his decisions over the past few weeks now look like very shrewd thinking and could have potentially lit the spark that Salah needs and that the team needs.
Hugo Ekitike is a Superstar
The Frenchman once again shone for the Reds grabbing a brace for the second time in a week. The lesser thought of striker signing over the summer, his arrival was met with confusion and excitement as many thought that Isak would be the big signing up front for LFC.
Ekitike has shown that he is not here to make up numbers and be a squad player, he has earnt that starting role and has made the British record transfer look mediocre in the meantime.
Throughout the night we saw many different parts to his game; finishing, dribbling, physicality and power.
What we thought we would see more of from Isak is exactly what Ekitike is bringing to the LFC starting XI.
His first goal was pure instincts; he was in the right position and then fired off a powerful half-volley that left the keeper scrambling.
Although his second goal was a free header, the leap and direction of the header were pure class, finally using the God-given ability of his height.
Aside from the goals, his overall play looked great, his relationship with Wirtz looks to be getting better and better, and he is never shy from the ball and in fact always shows and carries the ball when necessary.
His emergence this season will be a delight and a problem for Slot. He finally looks to have the out right No. 9 he has been looking for, but what can and what will Alexander Isak do to make life difficult for both Slot and Ekitike?