Slot happy Salah's defensive work-rate is getting noticed
DEFENSIVE WORK: Arne Slot is delighted that Mo Salah's defensive workrate is being noticed. Picture: AP Photo/Jon Super
Arne Slot's dad, like most fans, may love the more eye-catching aspects of football but the Liverpool manager himself takes as much satisfaction from one of the less heralded qualities: sheer hard graft.
The unselfish work-rate of his team is one of the reasons why for all their relentless attacking play and scoring capability they have put themselves in pole position in the Premier League - and look like staying there.
Slot had revealed before the game that his dad, Arend, had complained the midweek win over Lille hadn't been as exciting as other games. Well, Slot senior would surely have been delighted the way they patiently dismantled Ipswich.
But quite apart from the four goals, there were a couple of moments that pleased Slot junior - first when Mo Salah tracked back to regain possession from an opponent and then when his fellow striker Luis Diaz did the same.
Slot insists that winning the ball back is not just a job for his defenders and midfielders, it is also something he wants from his strikers. It's a collective effort and that is one of the key reasons Liverpool have lost only two of his first 34 games in charge - winning 27 of them.
"They have done it right from the start of the season, "he said. "The work-rate they put in when we lost the ball to prevent the other team from mounting counter attacks is a joy to watch. Although many fans, like my dad, prefer to see goals and assists I also like the work-rate we put in every single game.
"People usually ask me about Mo's goals or contract situation but it is good that his defensive work-rate was noticed. That moment [when he won the ball back] stood out. But I saw that reaction from many players when we lost the ball.
"Against a team with a low [defensive] block, fast wingers and with a good number nine it is difficult to control a counter attack and the only way to do it is what Mo did in that moment and other players in other moments. That is why I was so pleased. For 85 minutes it was almost the perfect performance against a team who come with a low block."
Salah, of course, did his usual job by scoring the second with a clinically-taken shot from a tight angle to register his 19th of the season, and move ahead of Arsenal legend Thierry Henry in the all-time Premier League scorers list. He has 176 - two of them with Chelsea.
But Liverpool are ensuring that the scoring burden does not just rest with the Egyptian international. Cody Gakpo, as well as crossing for Salah's goal, scored two and Dominik Szoboszlai continued his growing attacking confidence with a well-taken strike.
The worrying aspect for Liverpool's title rivals is that players like Gakpo - five goals in his last six League games - and Szoboszlai are improving. "That is the development the team is in," added Slot. "We have our players now in even more promising positions than last season.
"At the beginning of the season Dominik would have played that ball [for his goal] to Mo but this time he decided to go for goal himself.
“He is a bit underestimated, not by me, but he doesn't get the credit because his work-rate is unbelievable. That is so important for the team."
The only small blot for Liverpool was their failure to keep a clean sheet - an obvious frustration for captain Virgil Van Dijk on his 300th appearance for the club. Jacob Greaves muscled away from his markers to score with a diving header from Julio Encisco's corner to give Ipswich a 90th minute consolation.
Their heavy defeat followed a 6-0 trouncing by Manchester City but the results have to be put in context when you consider the Suffolk club's rapid rise - two years ago they were beating Morecambe 4-0 on their way to winning the League One title.
Keiran McKenna hopes his players they will learn the lessons for the games ahead - starting with a must-win home fixture against basement club Southampton this Saturday.
"It has been a tough two-game block and it's come at a tricky stage of the season for us," said the Ipswich manager. "But if we take the lessons in the right way we will be stronger for it and it'll help us in the games coming up.”Â
The concern for Ipswich is that they will almost certainly be without midfielder Wes Burns for a lengthy spell. He was stretchered off in the first half with what looked like damaged cruciate ligaments in his knee after an innocuous challenge on Gakpo with Mc Kenna admitting "he'll have a scan but it does not look good."
: Alisson 7; Alexander-Arnold 7, Konate 7, van Dijk 7, Robertson 7; Gravenberch 7 (Endo 68, 6); Mac Allister 7 (Danns 80, 6), Szoboszlai 8 (Elliott 68, 6); Salah 7, Diaz 7 (Chiesa 85, 6), Gakpo 9 (Nunez 68, 6).
: Kelleher, Tsimikas, Quansah, Bradley.
: Walton 6; Tuanzebe 5, O'Shea 5, Greaves 5, Davis 5 (Townsend 46, 5); Morsy 5, Phillips 5; Burns 5 (Johnson 29, 5), Hutchinson 5 (Broadhead 79, 5), Philogene 5 (Encisco 79, 5) Delap 6 (Hirst 79, 5).
: Muric, Taylor, Luongo, Godfrey.
: Mike Salisbury 7.
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