LFC have strung together two very strong results in a row. The boss was happy, if pragmatic, in his post-match comments.
Liverpool have been a bit in the wilderness for most of this title defense. While the Reds remain relatively strong – and alive – in both the Champions League and FA Cup, their form in the Premier League is what has dominated the chatter around the club. On the strength of two strong outings back-to-back – and most importantly, one of those being a comprehensive performance in the league – there may be the sense that things might be getting on track.
Arne Slot has certainly been feeling the heat given the outlay that ownership provided over the summer, bringing in Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, and Milos Kerkez. It was a massive show of support and fans were rightly excited if a bit confused at the lack of investment at center-back and right-back. With the rough patch in October/November and then a flat start to 2026, pundits have wondered a loud about the lack of cohesion and have spotted major deficiencies in terms of the defense.
While back-to-back wins against teams where Liverpool would have to be viewed as outright favorites isn’t necessarily going to undo the concerns that those stretches have raised, the nature of these results will at least give folks something a bit brighter to look to. Namely, that the offense looked as good as it’s looked all season with the ascendant form of both Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz being very welcome developments over the last month or so. And looking at the way Liverpool managed to not just overturn a deficit against Newcastle, but then thoroughly dominate the match certainly gives me a little bit more to feel better about; it’s been so long since the team has been able to look not just likely to punch back when down, but that they’d moved with the type of confidence and verve that made one feel that they were assured in their own ability to grab that result.
Slot’s own post-match comments echoed that sense of positivity laced with pragmatism. When asked about the nature of the past two results, he essentially indicated that the results were good but more would have to come to undo the doubt sowed from those difficult patches.
“Yeah, of course. We are in an industry where it’s all about results and I’ve asked after the Bournemouth game – asked to the players but told you as well – that we have to improve in both boxes because in between we do so many things at such a high level. In the last two games, scoring 10 and only conceding one, I think I can safely say that that has been a big improvement. So yeah, pleased and happy that we have these two results. But because of the many points we’ve dropped, we are also aware that this is certainly not enough.”
It is, of course, true: the Reds have dropped too many points from winning positions against teams they ought to have put away much sooner. It’s going to take a lot more than just two strong outings to erase the psychic stain of Bournemouth and Burnley – to name two very recent ones – from my mind.
But it would also be a disservice to not appreciate this win against Newcastle on its own merit. It’s a team that’s a step above both of those previous clubs and Liverpool always looked like the club most likely to take the points. Yes, Newcastle scored first and it was the nature of this season that goals against the run of play seemed to stick. Liverpool managing to overturn that trend by reversing the scoreline in such resounding measure is what makes this stand out for me.
It’s not the balm for everything, but it is a temporary salve. I’ll need to see more as most will undoubtedly expect. But this was a good and very welcome first step.
Category: General Sports
