Liverpool end losing run in style as Szoboszlai caps 5-1 fightback win in Frankfurt | Champions League

Liverpool banished the spectre of a fifth successive defeat with a five‑goal rout of Eintracht Frankfurt that included several ticks on Arne Slot’s wishlist. There was set-piece prowess, two assists from Florian Wirtz, accuracy in front of goal and, most importantly, that winning feeling again as Liverpool consigned their losing run to history.

Slot’s team conceded first for the fifth game in a row but this time produced an emphatic and sustained response. Eintracht’s opener plus injuries to Alexander Isak and Jeremie Frimpong – who could both be sidelined for weeks with respective groin and hamstring problems – were Slot’s only complaints on a night when Liverpool rediscovered their attacking verve.

There was defensive improvement, too. All three of Eintracht’s Champions League games this season have finished in a 5-1 scoreline, one for and two against, but Liverpool should have won more handsomely. Mohamed Salah, on as a substitute, missed several good chances to enhance the Premier League champions’ return to winning ways.

Salah’s omission for the second Champions League game in succession, and after a poor run of form, was one of several big calls by Slot. He made five changes from the side beaten by Manchester United on Sunday and switched formation too, exploring the question of whether Isak and Hugo Ekitiké can play together by starting both in a 4-4-2. There was no definite answer.

Ekitiké flourished against his former club but Isak was withdrawn after a quiet 45 minutes having felt his groin. Slot declared his £125m record signing fully fit only on Friday but fears the setback was a consequence of Isak starting two games in quick succession. Frimpong lasted 19 minutes before sustaining another hamstring injury and had to be replaced by Conor Bradley.

Enforced departures aside, Liverpool could take immense satisfaction from their night’s work and how they dealt with falling a goal behind once again. Slot’s team were more assured than of late. Dominik Szoboszlai excelled in central midfield while Wirtz, stationed on the right, was an increasing influence on his return to Germany.

Liverpool withstood early pressure and were starting to control a limited Eintracht team when they were prised apart in style by the hosts. Nathaniel Brown dispossessed Wirtz in the left-back position. From there, Eintracht played their way through the Liverpool press to advance the length of the pitch. Jean-Mattéo Bahoya found Rasmus Kristensen on the right and the wing-back drilled a shot that flew between the legs of Andy Robertson and nestled in off the inside of the far post. Liverpool responded by scoring three goals in a rampant 10-minute spell.

When another flowing Eintracht move broke down inside the Liverpool area, Robertson instigated a devastating counterattack that led to Ekitiké equalising seven seconds later. The former Leeds defender Robin Koch had no answer to the French forward’s blistering pace as he latched on to Robertson’s first‑time pass and slotted under Michael Zetterer. Ekitiké held his hands up in apology to his former club. Liverpool’s away contingent made amends for his low-key celebration by going wild in the corner.

Liverpool’s 300th away goal in Europe was followed quickly by the 301st, and the 302nd, as the German side showed why they had leaked 24 goals in their previous 10 matches and had not kept a clean sheet in the past nine. Slot’s side were energised by Ekitiké’s equaliser and forced a series of corners that allowed Cody Gakpo to find his range. The Netherlands international swept over an inviting delivery from the left and Virgil van Dijk, having easily escaped his marker, converted with a thumping header.

Not to be outdone, the captain’s defensive partner Ibrahima Konaté produced a repeat performance. The Liverpool centre-half also scored with an emphatic header, this time from Szoboszlai’s corner from the right, after charging through a nonexistent defence. Having spent the past few weeks bemoaning Liverpool’s set‑piece work at both ends of the pitch, Slot rejoiced at scoring from two in five minutes.

Isak’s interval replacement, Federico Chiesa, came close to a fourth moments after the restart. Wirtz and Bradley also threatened, the full-back with a vicious drive that Zetterer pushed on to a post, before the visitors increased their lead. Szoboszlai released Wirtz in space down the right and the Germany international threaded a cross along the face of Zetterer’s goal for Gakpo to convert at the back post. Wirtz claimed his second assist of the night when he returned the favour to Szoboszlai and, from 25 yards out, the commanding midfielder powered a drive into the bottom corner.

The home fans, to their immense credit, remained a raucous force behind their outclassed team but Liverpool should really have inflicted more punishment. Salah missed several good openings in the closing stages, Chiesa too, but all that mattered to Liverpool was ending their losing run. And they obliterated it.