Liverpool bounced back from their four successive defeats in style as they came from behind to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday. Hugo Ekitike, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai all got on the scoresheet for the Reds in Germany while Florian Wirtz finally registered his first assists since his big-money arrival from Bayer Leverkusen.
Arne Slot made five changes to his side from Sunday's loss to Manchester United, and Alexander Isak twice went close to putting them ahead inside the opening 10 minutes, only to be denied by Michael Zetterer in the Eintracht goal. Instead it was the hosts who broke the deadlock, as Rasmus Kristensen finished off a sweeping move from back to front after Wirtz surrendered possession.
Zetterer had to be at his best to keep out a point-blank Conor Bradley header, but he was powerless to stop Ekitike from equalising against his former club as the forward ran onto Andrew Robertson's fine through-ball and slotted home 10 minutes before half-time. By the break the visitors were 3-1 up as first Van Dijk and then Konate both powered home close-range headers from corners.
Suddenly in confident mood, Liverpool went close to adding to their lead as Federico Chiesa volleyed wide and Bradley had a powerful effort pushed onto the post before Gakpo tapped into an empty net after Szoboszlai and Wirtz combined to cut through the hosts. Szoboszlai then grabbed his goal with an arrowed drive into the bottom corner from 25 yards.
GOAL rates Liverpool's players from Deutsche Bank Park…
AFPGoalkeeper & Defence
Giorgi Marmadashvili (6/10):
Couldn't do much to keep out Kristensen's strike but wasn't called upon all that often thereafter.
Jeremie Frimpong (5/10):
Couldn't make much impact on the game before an injury forced him off inside the opening 20 minutes.
Ibrahima Konate (7/10):
Had an easier night from a defensive point of view than in recent weeks and showed good strength to wrestle free of his marker and head in Liverpool's third.
Virgil van Dijk (7/10):
Wild that he was given so much room in the box to head Liverpool in front, but he made no mistake. Held things together pretty well at the back, too.
Andrew Robertson (6/10):
Perhaps could have done more to stop Kristensen from shooting for the opener, but redeemed himself with a superb first-time pass to set Ekitike free to equalise. Does look more dependable than Kerkez right now.
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Florian Wirtz (6/10):
Shrugged off the ball far too easily by Nathaniel Brown which led to Eintracht's goal. Did show some nice touches both out wide and when moved centrally after the break, but nothing came off for the big-money signing before he finally provided his first assists for the club with a nicely weighted ball into Gakpo and an easy pass into Szoboszlai.
Dominik Szoboszlai (8/10):
Had to cover a lot of ground in the first half as attempted to shield the defence almost on his own at times. Grew in stature as the game wore on and produced some excellent defensive interventions before starting the move for Gakpo's goal and netting a fine long-range strike of his own.
Curtis Jones (7/10):
Given the task of driving Liverpool forward from midfield, the England international performed admirably in a tough role.
Cody Gakpo (7/10):
Provided a couple of fine crosses into the box, including for Van Dijk's goal, and got himself on the scoresheet in the second half with a tap-in. Continues to be the most consistent of Liverpool's forwards right now.
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Alexander Isak (4/10):
Denied twice by Zetterer in the opening 10 minutes, but faded badly after that bright start before being replaced at half-time.
Hugo Ekitike (7/10):
Spent the first half-hour with his back to goal, but showed what he can do when going the other way with his composed equaliser. So silky when he picks up possession, he looks a much better bet than Isak at the moment.
AFPSubs & Manager
Conor Bradley (7/10):
Could have had a couple of goals if not for Zetterer and produced a fine block to deny Bahoya at 2-1 in a typically gritty display.
Federico Chiesa (5/10):
Wasted a couple of good chances but showed good energy after replacing Isak at half-time.
Mohamed Salah (5/10):
Tried all he could to get on the scoresheet in the final 20 minutes but couldn't find the net
Alexis Mac Allister (6/10):
Replaced Gakpo for the final 20 minutes.
Joe Gomez (6/10):
Gave Konate the final minutes off.
Arne Slot (7/10):
Opting for a 4-4-2 didn't quite work even if Liverpool went 3-1 up before half-time, and did the right thing taking Isak off at the break to ensure his side could control the second half.