Arne Slot admitted Liverpool’s first-half efficiency towards Southampton was a “warning signal” as he needed to “create anger” within the dressing room on the break.
Trailing to Will Smallbone’s added-time purpose after a misunderstanding between Virgil van Dijk and goalkeeper Alisson Becker, Slot – who was watching from the Major Stand as he was serving the final recreation of his touchline suspension – moved shortly to rectify the state of affairs.
Having issued his gamers with an order to extend the tempo, he made a triple substitution with Harvey Elliott, Andy Robertson and Alexis Mac Allister approaching and instantly altering the dynamic.
Throughout the house of 5 minutes, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah, with the primary of two penalties, had turned issues round because the Premier League leaders stretched their benefit on the high to 16 factors forward of their Champions League second-leg conflict with PSG on Tuesday at Anfield.
Slot instructed Sky Sports activities: “It was a really poor efficiency within the first half. Perhaps in the event you see the highlights you’ll really feel there have been three or 4 possibilities, however we weren’t within the recreation in any respect and it did not come to a shock to me that we conceded a purpose. Particularly in the event you have a look at the way in which we conceded it, it tells you all about our first half.
“We discovered a option to win the sport within the second half.
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Liverpool’s win towards Southampton within the Premier League
“Within the media, in my conferences, I made clear to them how troublesome of a recreation this was and that we’ve got to play on totally different depth ranges than we have performed towards Paris Saint-Germain. Perhaps additionally to get used to that degree of depth that we’ll expertise Tuesday once more. However in the long run I needed to make some exhausting choices, possibly at half-time, to create a sure anger with the gamers.
“That triple substitution at the beginning of the second half appeared to reignite the workforce. The three that got here in did rather well. That is the very first thing, however I may see from the opposite eight a unique perspective as effectively.
“So in the event you have a look at the primary purpose, we performed the ball to Diaz and unexpectedly he was on tempo making an attempt to create one thing, the place within the first half he saved the ball ready, ready, ready and that was not just for him, however usually.
“And within the second purpose you can see Ryan Gravenberch pushing up, profitable the second ball which led to the penalty, the place within the first half they might each time escape after we crossed the ball.
“I am totally conscious of the truth that in the event you play a season, you can not play 38 instances within the highest depth or the absolute best soccer you possibly can play. So typically it’s important to discover one other method of profitable a recreation.
“However the first half at present is hopefully a warning signal as a result of like I stated, we have skilled it already in Paris, that the depth, the way in which they play, was very excessive for us on that evening. And if I examine it with the depth we performed at present, it is not one, two, three, 4, 5 steps, it is in all probability six or seven or eight steps down in the direction of the depth ranges of Paris Saint-Germain.”
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