Liverpool manager Arne Slott was impressed by his players' "almost perfect" performance in their 4-1 win over Ipswich on Saturday, which maintained their six-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
Kody Gakpo scored twice in the win after Dominik Szoboszlá and Mohamed Salah had given the team the lead in the early minutes. It was also Salah's 100th Premier League goal and it was scored in front of a new record attendance for a league match - 60,420 spectators.
The home team had a 3-0 lead at half-time and had they not eased off the pressure, they would probably have scored more goals against the visitors from Ipswich. The only mistake they made was Jacob Greaves' goal, which came at the very end.
"We've played well a few times as hosts, but we've conceded a goal in our own goal early on. Today was the performance I want to see - the way I want a game to start," Slott began. "We were aggressive, we dominated for 85 minutes and it was hard for the opponents to leave their own half. We were almost perfect in terms of executing the tasks set. I knew they had strength on the wings on the counterattack and we had to be careful. I think we managed that too".
"At the end of the match we conceded a goal after a cross from a corner kick, which is the first such goal for our opponents since the beginning of the season. That's what disappointed me. But for 85 minutes it was almost a perfect performance against a team that plays low block," the Dutch coach of the Premier League leaders explained.
Salah scored his 19th goal of the season, he now has 100 in the Premier League, as well as 176 in English pitches. But the thing that has really pleased the coach is his participation in defense.
"Most often when we talk about Mo Salah, we talk about his contract and his goals. But now we will talk about his defense. I think that stood out. But if you look at every situation when we lost the ball, I saw a reaction from all the players. The most difficult thing when you defend is to control the opponent's counterattack. "That's why I'm happy with the way Mo Salah and the rest of the team reacted," concluded a pleased Arne Slott.
His team leads the standings with 53 points, 6 more than Arsenal and 9 ahead of 3rd-placed Nottingham Forest.