Frankfurt 1-5 Liverpool: Reds finally win as Wirtz and Szoboszlai shine

Liverpool ended their run of four consecutive defeats with an emphatic 5-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League, with Dominik Szoboszlai the star.

Isak and Ekitike start together for the first time

Arne Slot made five changes from the weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Man United and it meant a first start together for Alexander Isak and the incoming Hugo Ekitike.

Ekitike came in along with Jeremie Frimpong, Andy Robertson, Curtis Jones and Florian Wirtz.

It was a strange 4-2-2-2 shape from kickoff, with Wirtz a nominal right-sider, Isak and Ekitike both No. 9s and Frimpong trusted to run up and down the flank as a key creator.

Liverpool get the lead their dominance deserves

Frimpong’s impact on a dominant start came to an abrupt end due to a hamstring injury, forcing Slot into a change after just 19 minutes as Conor Bradley came on.

Isak had already been denied twice at that point – including an effort destined for the bottom corner following Wirtz’s stellar long pass – and Liverpool were clearly knocking on the door.

But it was Frankfurt who struck first, with a flowing move led by one-time Liverpool target Mario Gotze eventually finished by right-back Rasmus Kristensen in off the post.

The Reds were soon level and hope was restored as Hugo Ekitike finished expertly against his former club, having been sent through for a one-on-one by Robertson’s pass on the counter.

And after question marks over their set-piece prowess Liverpool gained and double the lead with two headers from corners: first Virgil van Dijk from Cody Gakpo‘s delivery and then Ibrahima Konate thundering in Szoboszlai’s in-swinger.

Half-time: Eintracht Frankfurt 1-3 Liverpool

Wirtz finally assists in comfortable second half

Federico Chiesa replaced Isak at half-time, likely with the Swede’s fitness in mind, and the Italian almost scored an overhead kick within minutes of the restart.

Frankfurt played into their visitors’ hands as they struggled to complete simple passes, with Wirtz registering his first assist since the Community Shield after a routine turnover – the No. 7 playing the ball across for Gakpo to tap in.

Wirtz then laid on another, though with less influence on the quality of the strike, with his simple pass to Szoboszlai allowing the midfielder to step up and power in from range.

Slot took the opportunity to rest some of his regulars with 20 minutes to play, but it still allowed him to introduce Joe Gomez, Alexis Mac Allister and Mohamed Salah.

That quality helped ensure Liverpool sealed their biggest win of the season, with their 5-1 triumph a welcome return to form after their misery over the previous four weeks.

TIA Man of the Match: Dominik Szoboszlai