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Liverpool’s 4-1 win over Ipswich this afternoon was virtually the “perfect performance”, according to boss Arne Slot.
Cody Gakpo continued his excellent season with a brace, with Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah also on target for Liverpool, who maintained their six-point lead over Arsenal at the top of the table.
Jacob Greaves pulled one back late for Ipswich but they were outplayed for much of the afternoon and have now conceded 10 goals in two games to see their relegation fears rise.
A selfie of the reds on the score sheet 😊🤳 pic.twitter.com/kqf2pbhebb
– Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 25, 2025
Early breakthrough paved the way for victory – Slot
Szoboszlai’s initial goal was crucial, according to Dutchman Slot, who said: “There have been a few times when we played a home game that we conceded a goal at the beginning of the game, but I think today is the way you want to start the game: we were aggressive, dominant.
“For 85 minutes they’ve barely been in our half, I think. He’s a counter-attacking threat with the wingers they have and with (Liam) lap, but we managed to control that, so, so, because of the amount of work we’ve put in.
“In the end, we are all a little disappointed with conceding (from) a corner, the first this season, but for 85 minutes it was almost a perfect performance, against a team that goes for such a low block. That’s not always easy, but the way we did it for 85 minutes was really good.”
Special praise for Szoboszlai
The slot was particularly pleasing for Hungary captain Szoboszlai, who he believes sometimes goes under the radar.
He added: “If you approach Dom, I think at the beginning of the season he would have played that ball with Mo, which most of the time was a very good option because Mo can also score a goal.
“And now he decided to go for the goal himself and scored the goal himself. Nice for him because he’s a little underrated in my opinion. Not by me, but he doesn’t always get the credit for the fact that he’s so important to this team, because his work rate isn’t classy.
“Keep running at the highest intensity, and that’s very important for a team that wants to compete for something.”
There is no place like home 🏟️
A goal in each of his last seven starts at Anfield for Gakpo 🇳🇱✨ pic.twitter.com/udabiwnqk1
– Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 25, 2025
Relegation fears continue for Ipswich
Ipswich remain in the bottom three and in the middle of a sticky race after their 6-0 drubbing by Manchester City last weekend.
Boss Kieran McKenna told BBC Sport: “It was another tough game for us. There was positivity in how we finished it. I didn’t think the first half we were under a lot of pressure but Liverpool are clinical and we didn’t defend our box well enough. It has come at a difficult stage of the season, but we will take our lessons from it.
“Everyone comes with a plan, but when they get a first goal like that, it’s really difficult. Credit to my players with how they stayed in the second half.
“We will look back on it. We need to do some things better than in the first half. I know it’s halfway through the season, but that’s the first time the back four have been together since game six.”
There may be more bad news for Ipswich with winger Wes Burns out with a nasty-looking injury.
McKenna added: “His knee is very swollen. We’re not too positive.”
