1 week ago
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Dino Toppmoller, the manager of Eintracht Frankfurt, admitted that Liverpool "killed" his team with its set-pieces during Wednesday's 5-1 defeat in Germany.
The Reds bounced back from a string of four consecutive losses with a resounding victory over the Bundesliga side, showcasing one of their most comprehensive performances of the season so far as they got their Champions League campaign back on track.
Despite initially falling behind to Rasmus Kristensen's opening goal, Liverpool quickly retaliated with former Frankfurt star Hugo Ekitike scoring before Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate netted from corners, giving the visitors a comfortable lead at half-time.
Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai added to the scoreline after the break, ending a losing streak against Crystal Palace, Galatasaray, Chelsea and Manchester United. It was a convincing win for the Premier League champions ahead of their Saturday trip to Brentford.
Toppmoller reflected on the match, saying: "I think we played a good first half and executed what we set out to do," and "We showed good aggression in the duels, which is how our goal came about. We played it exceptionally well there. We felt like we were in the game well."
He acknowledged Liverpool's threat, stating: "We knew Liverpool were always dangerous, and then we conceded a relatively simple goal at 1-1. We definitely needed better coverage, and we knew about Eki's speed.
"In the end, to be honest, the two set-piece goals conceded before half-time killed us. Liverpool have bigger players in their ranks. When the lads come out with that kind of momentum, it's difficult to defend.
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"We knew they would have more of the ball. They didn't have any big opportunities in the first half because we defended well. We definitely should have been calmer and exploited one or two situations better."
Toppmoller went on to say: "At this level, you have to be good in this phase of the game, too. In the second half, we lacked a bit of belief and self-confidence.
"This was also noticeable in some of the misplaced passes. On the last goal, we controlled the ball ourselves. We have to learn from that. We weren't aggressive enough in the duels. The gaps grew."
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can read the original story in the Liverpool ECHO by clicking here.
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