Liverpool had their best performance of the season right at an important time for coach Arne Slot. Finally, people have seen why they were once the Premier League champions, and Anfield has regained the familiar image of the team.
Galatasaray was defeated 4-0, helping Liverpool win 4-1 overall to win a ticket to the Champions League quarter-finals against defending champion Paris Saint-Germain. The score could even be much heavier, as Hugo Ekitike believes his team could have scored up to 10 goals.
More importantly for Slot, Liverpool's way of winning - intense, direct and imbued with The Kop - has created a strong connection between the team and fans. That is the perfect answer after the disappointing 1-1 draw against Tottenham in the Premier League.
From beginning to end, we played exactly what I, the players and fans wanted. Not only did the team play perfectly but also the stands" - Slot shared after the match.
The boos after the match against Spurs once made the atmosphere at Anfield heavy, even former center-back Jamie Carragher said that Slot would have difficulty regaining confidence. However, after only a few days, optimism returned.
Liverpool completely overwhelmed, shown through the xG index of 4.88 compared to Galatasaray's 0.18. This performance shows that they are still capable of saving the season when they are still competing in the Champions League, FA Cup and the top 5 Premier League race.
This was also a perfect night for Mohamed Salah. After missing a penalty in the first half, the Egyptian striker exploded in the second half with 2 goals and one assist, and also became the first African player to reach the milestone of 50 goals in the Champions League.
That situation showed his bravery. Missing a penalty is not easy to overcome, but Salah reacted perfectly. The whole team is the same, because this season we have missed too many opportunities" - Liverpool's captain said.
Slot's move away from Jurgen Klopp's "heavy metal" style to pursue the controversial ball control philosophy has caused Liverpool to be said to have lost their identity. But this match shows that they are finding themselves again at the most important moment.
This is Liverpool's best performance this season. Completely different from the match against Tottenham" - Carragher commented.
Ekitike - one of Liverpool's bright spots since the beginning of the season - also agreed with that view: "We are fighting for each other, playing with very high intensity. The score should have been 10-0".
Meanwhile, Dominik Szoboszlai - the best player of the match - admitted that the team needs to maintain stability: "Now we know we can play like this. The problem is to do that in every match".
The sublime nights at Anfield are often associated with the Champions League, but real challenges will come immediately afterwards, when Liverpool must maintain their form in the Premier League.
Currently, Liverpool is still ranked fifth and has the right to decide in the race to win a Champions League spot. The performance in the European arena may play an important role in maintaining that position.
Ahead is PSG - the team that eliminated Liverpool last season. In theory, this is considered a disparate match. But with what has just been shown, if Liverpool maintains their form, they can completely make any opponent wary.
