Liverpool posted an impressive performance with an “almost perfect” evening in the 4-1 win over Ipswich which maintained their six-point lead at the top.Cody Gakpo scored twice after Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah, with his 100th Premier League goal for the club at Anfield. The match was played in front of a new record league attendance of 60,420 fans.
The Reds only needed the first half of the match to get the work done as three goals before the halftime break put the Reds in command of the Anfield contest, as Dominik Szoboszlai, Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo each netted a goal. Ipswich suffered another early blow when right-back Wes Burns sustained a serious knee injury while tackling Gakpo. The defender was stretchered off in a test of the visitors’ 11-behind-the-ball setup.
Ipswich frustrated the hosts in the early stages of the match but the Reds were able to find a way through on 11 minutes with their first effort on target. Dominik Szoboszlai weaved his way to the edge of the area and fired into the bottom right corner giving them the lead. Arne Slot’s side doubled their lead in the 35th minute when Mo Salah was picked out at the back post by a cross from Gakpo, with the forward lifting the ball into the roof of the net from a tight angle.
The referee signaled additional time for the first half but Gakpo got his name on the scoresheet before the seven additional minutes even began. Szoboszlai was denied by Christian Walton after Ryan Gravenberch‘s sharp pass and the Dutch winger followed up for 3-0. Liverpool could’ve extended their lead further in stoppage time but Luis Diaz couldn’t get on the end of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s teasing delivery and Szoboszlai’s effort from inside the area flew just wide.
Slot used the second half to switch things up with the introduction of Harvey Elliott, and while the midfielder was still preparing to come on, Gakpo headed home an outstanding Alexander-Arnold cross to make it 4-0. Ipswich had to wait until the 90th minute before they got their goal when Julio Enciso sent a corner towards Jacob Greaves at the back post who thundered home a header from a few yards out.
Speaking to the press after the match, here is what Liverpool FC coach Arne Slot had to say;
We were aggressive, dominant, for 85 minutes, [Ipswich] were hardly in our half, but they still had a counter-attacking threat with the wingers they have, and we managed to control that so, so well. Of course, we’re disappointed to concede from a corner but for 85 minutes it was almost a perfect performance against a team in such a low block. For 85 minutes it was really good.
Mohamed Salah hit another milestone with his goal in Liverpool’s 4-1 win over Ipswich, and in doing so he finally overtook Thierry Henry in the record books. Salah has now scored 176 times in the Premier League – all but two for Liverpool – leapfrogging Henry (175) in the all-time charts as the seventh-top goalscorer in the English top flight.
