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Liverpool manager Arne Slot offered an eyebrow-raising explanation when asked what made the difference as his side came from behind to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 away in the Champions League on Wednesday night. The Reds returned to winning ways after a run of four successive defeats and looked far more like themselves on German soil. Florian Wirtz began to show the quality he was brought in for, producing two assists on a night when five different goalscorers - Hugo Ekitike, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Cody Gakpo, and Dominik Szoboszlai - got in on the act, delivering a stinging response to the Premier League champions’ recent slump in form. The hope now is that Slot can carry the positives from this demolition job into their league campaign as Liverpool travel to Brentford on Saturday night aiming to close the four-point gap between themselves and league leaders Arsenal. However, his explanation for why his side dominated in midweek focussed more on what the opposition did differently rather than the tactical setup he employed. Slot's Interesting Explanation For His Side's Champions League Win The Dutchman felt that Eintracht Frankfurt - who now own the incredible statistic of having all three of their first Champions League fixtures of the season finishing 5-1 either to them or their opponents - played into Liverpool's hands at the Deutsche Bank Park. He explained (watch the full segment below): "The biggest exception for me was, today compared to the other games we've played, was the playing style of our opponent. We got some energy from moments where we could press them, which in the last four or five games, we were not able to press our opponent because the ball wasn't on the ground, it was through the air." Of course, what Slot was referring to was likely the fact teams like Manchester United had looked to expose the Reds' full-backs by playing the ball over the defence, which clearly worked as the champions have often been caught napping in transitions in recent weeks. However, that hasn't stopped rival supporters from taking his comments too literally and being left bemused by his explanation. One X user reacted by asking: "Is this AI? Because he can't be saying this," as a second added: This man is the most annoying person in the league." That said, another X user raised a good point, writing: "When is a journalist gonna man up and tell him, 'okay but how will you deal with teams that play long ball?' Because he always talks about teams playing long ball but never says how he will try to combat that." Last season, Slot won the Premier League at a canter, boasting a 70 percent win rate across all competitions - the highest of any Liverpool manager during their debut campaign. Throughout that run, he was often praised for his ability to adapt to opposition tactics and make in-game adjustments that kept him consistently one or two steps ahead of those on the opposite side of the technical area.
