Liverpool bounce back in emphatic fashion

-

Frankfurt 1 - 5 Liverpool

Hugo Ekitike scored against his former club as Liverpool emphatically ended their losing streak, coming from behind to thrash Eintracht Frankfurt.

Author | Ed

Stadium | Deutsche Bank Park

Champions League | Frankfurt v Liverpool | View from the stands pre match

After beginning the season with seven straight wins in all competitions, Liverpool had stumbled badly, suffering four successive defeats, including Sunday’s loss to Manchester United in the Premier League.

Their troubles appeared set to continue when Rasmus Kristensen, the former Leeds defender, put Frankfurt ahead after a sluggish opening from the visitors.

But Liverpool soon found their rhythm. Ekitike, starting alongside British-record signing Alexander Isak for the first time, levelled ten minutes before the break, latching on to Andy Robertson’s precise long pass and finishing calmly.

Virgil van Dijk headed Liverpool in front four minutes later from a corner, before Ibrahima Konaté made it 3-1 on the stroke of half-time with another powerful header.

The Ekitike-Isak partnership lasted only one half, with Isak withdrawn at the interval after picking up a groin injury, Arne Slot confirmed afterwards.

By then, the contest was effectively over, but Liverpool pressed on in dominant fashion. Cody Gakpo added a fourth, finishing from Florian Wirtz’s square pass, before Dominik Szoboszlai sealed the rout with a superb long-range strike, again set up by Wirtz.

This was a much-needed victory for Liverpool, coming at a time when the pressure had intensified on the club for the first time since Arne Slot became manager. 

Defensive frailties exposed again for Frankfurt

Eintracht Frankfurt, who secured their highest league finish since 1991–92 by coming third in last season’s Bundesliga, have endured a mixed start to the current campaign.

After winning three of their first four matches, they arrived at this fixture on the back of two home defeats in which they conceded seven goals.

Yet their 12 goals in five games before Wednesday underlined that they remain dangerous in attack, even after losing Ekitike to Liverpool in the summer.

Their opening goal was a textbook counterattack, capitalising on a Wirtz error before slicing through Liverpool’s defence with ease.

But that proved to be the high point of Frankfurt’s night. From then on, they were second best in every department, chasing shadows for much of the second half as Liverpool’s dominance grew relentless.

Location: Mörfelder Landstraße 362, 60528 Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Popular posts from this blog

Braga stun Celtic after VAR controversy

-
Image
Celtic 2 - 0 Braga Celtic suffered further European disappointment as goals in each half and a controversial disallowed equaliser earned Braga victory in what was a chaotic encounter. Author |  Sean M Stadium |  Celtic Park Kick-off Kasper Schmeichel had an error-strewn game in goal and failed to keep out Ricardo Horta 's early long-range effort, which stunned the Celtic Park crowd into silence. The Dane then did well to keep out a late shot but was helpless when the ball bounced off Gabri Martinez in a botched clearance and rebounded into the net to seal all the points. After their Champions League qualification failure against Kairat Almaty , and an opening Europa League draw with Red Star Belgrade , this continued Celtic's disappointing start to their European campaign. In fact, so sharp has been the drop-off since last season, that Brendan Rodgers ' side may struggle to qualify for the latter stages of the Europa League unless they can find their way again, and q...
Read more

Mourinho’s return to England ends in defeat

-
Image
Chelsea 1 - 0 Benfica  A much-needed win for Chelsea as they picked up their first points of their Champions League campaign. Author |  Lauren W Stadium | Stamford Bridge  View from the stands José Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge ended in disappointment as Chelsea edged past his new club Benfica with a narrow Champions League win sealed by Richard Rios ’ first-half own goal.  The affection from the home crowd was evident, with Mourinho serenaded throughout and responding with waves to both ends of the ground, but the evening turned on a moment of misfortune when the Colombian midfielder diverted Alejandro Garnacho ’s driven cross beyond his own goalkeeper, Anatoliy Trubin . Chelsea, however, did little to convince despite the victory. Garnacho spurned chances on his second start and teenage substitute Estevão Willian forced only a late save from Trubin, while João Pedro ’s stoppage-time dismissal for a second booking made it three red cards in four matches ...
Read more

Live commentary recap | Latvia v England

-
Image
Latvia v England live commentary Three points here and England will have qualified for the 2026 World Cup Author |  Lauren W This will be the place for live commentary from England's trip to Latvia. Full-time  England have qualified for the World Cup with two games to spare. Against limited opposition granted but that was a superb performance from The Three Lions. 85 minutes | Eze makes it five! He scored against Latvia in March, and Eberechi Eze adds another against them tonight. A precise low finish followed after Jarrod Bowen did well to win possession on the halfway line. The perfect finishing touch. 74 minutes | “A thoroughly professional display from Thomas Tuchel’s side...” Gez wanted to travel to Latvia for the match but had to settle for watching on TV. He has been impressed with the performance: “Just the 19 efforts on goal for England, with 41 touches inside Latvia’s penalty area. A thoroughly professional display from Thomas Tuchel’s side tonight.” 57 minutes |...
Read more