Liverpool finally stopped a run of four straight defeats after coming from behind to earn a comfortable 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Champions League.
Arne Slot’s team badly needed a result in Germany, but it was Frankfurt who struck first after a slick move. Mario Götze found Rasmus Kristensen with a clever pass, and the Dane fired in a right-footed shot from a tight angle that went in off the post. It was his first Champions League goal and gave the home fans plenty to cheer about, but their joy didn’t last long.
Former Frankfurt player Hugo Ekitike levelled the score after being played through by Andrew Robertson, finishing calmly against the club he left for £69 million just three months ago. Liverpool then took the lead when Virgil van Dijk headed in Cody Gakpo’s corner, and made it 3-1 before half-time through another header , this time from Ibrahima Konaté, who met Dominik Szoboszlai’s corner perfectly.
After the break, Federico Chiesa replaced Isak and almost made an instant impact with an overhead kick that went wide. Florian Wirtz then forced a good save from Michael Zetterer with a free-kick. Frankfurt, who had started brightly, were now under heavy pressure. Zetterer had to make more saves from Ekitike and Conor Bradley, but Liverpool’s fourth goal soon arrived. Gakpo tapped in from close range after a clever cut-back by Wirtz, and soon after, Szoboszlai made it 5-1 with another well-placed strike, again set up by Wirtz.
This convincing win was exactly what Liverpool needed after their poor run of form. Slot will hope it marks a turning point as they look to push for success both in England and in Europe. Liverpool are now unbeaten in their last 15 matches against German sides, a streak that began after a 4-2 loss to Bayer Leverkusen in April 2002.
For Frankfurt, it was another tough night. All three of their Champions League group games so far have finished 5-1, with two of those being defeats. They have also gone five matches without a win against Premier League clubs.
