Arne Slot enjoyed a successful Premier League debut as Liverpool manager, guiding his team to a 2-0 victory over newly-promoted Ipswich on Saturday, thanks to quickfire goals from Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah.
Slot, who has the challenging task of following in Jurgen Klopp’s footsteps at Anfield, will have been encouraged by a dominant second-half display from his side.
Ipswich, making their Premier League return after 22 years following back-to-back promotions, showed resilience in the first half. Celebrity fan and minority owner Ed Sheeran was among the spectators at Portman Road, although he departed at halftime to attend a concert in Serbia.
The Tractor Boys made a strong start, with Omari Hutchinson seeing a shot blocked within the first two minutes, and Jacob Greaves heading a good chance too close to Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker.
Liverpool, yet to make a signing in this transfer window, showed signs of needing fresh faces during a sluggish and disjointed first half. However, Slot’s halftime talk seemed to have the desired effect as the Reds came out revitalized and could have secured a more comfortable win.
Greaves made a crucial clearance to deny Salah’s curling effort, and Liverpool narrowly avoided conceding a penalty when a potential foul by Virgil van Dijk on Liam Delap was ruled out due to a marginal offside in the buildup.
Luis Diaz missed a golden opportunity to break the deadlock when he fired over from close range after brilliant build-up play from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai. Jota also headed wide from an inviting Alexander-Arnold cross.
Liverpool’s persistence paid off on the hour mark when another incisive pass from Alexander-Arnold set up Salah, who unselfishly squared the ball for Jota to make amends for his earlier miss. Five minutes later, Salah added a second, scoring after a slick one-two with Szoboszlai to mark his ninth opening weekend goal for Liverpool.
Ipswich goalkeeper Christian Walton made several key saves late on, notably denying Salah and Conor Bradley, to keep the scoreline respectable. Despite the defeat, Ipswich, who had been unbeaten at home in the league for nearly 12 months, were given a harsh lesson in the gap between the Championship and the Premier League.
Next weekend, Ipswich face a daunting trip to defending champions Manchester City, while Liverpool will look to build momentum under Slot with a favorable run of fixtures before their clash with Manchester United next month.
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