Three things learned from Liverpool v Eintracht Frankfurt as Reds end losing streak without Mohamed Salah

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Liverpool managed to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 in their Champions League clash on Wednesday.

Things started a little rough for Arne Slot’s men, with the Bundesliga outfit managing to open up the scoring.

However, since the Reds chose against starting Mohamed Salah, it was unclear whether or not they’d be able to scrape a result out of the tie.

In the end, they more than managed to do that with the likes of Hugo Ekitike and Virgil van Dijk getting in on the action.

And now, here are three things that we learned about Liverpool after their Champions League outing.

Liverpool have finally managed to click on set-pieces

One of the Reds’ main problems this season has been set-pieces.

However, on Wednesday, something changed as both Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate got the ball into the back of Frankfurt’s net after receiving inch-perfect corner-kicks from Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai.

The Reds’ first-team squad actually used their height to their advantage with Van Dijk’s goal being similar to the one he bagged against Atletico Madrid earlier in the season.

One of Liverpool’s main goals this season is to retain the Premier League title, and, since Arsenal, who are their most likely challengers, have got set-pieces nailed down, it’s nice to know that the Anfield outfit can also take advantage of them.

Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike can be used alongside one another by Liverpool

The debate about who should be starting between Alexander Isak and Ekitike has been constant since the Sweden international made the move to Liverpool on deadline day.

And, now that Isak has finally got back to full fitness, the last few games have made it seem like Ekitike will be his back-up.

However, in the game against Frankfurt, Slot chose to start both his number nines and, to be honest, they thrived.

Ekitike got in on the action with a goal, with Isak also getting a chance after Curtis Jones played him an inch-perfect ball over the top of Frankfurt’s defence.

Although Salah and Gakpo have seemed to have nailed down spots in Slot’s starting XI, the performance of Isak and Ekitike could make him change his stance.

Liverpool can actually perform well without Mohamed Salah in their starting XI

Last season, Liverpool playing a game without Salah among their starting XI was a recipe for disaster.

The attacker contributed to over 50 goals last season and was the main man that the Reds looked towards when they needed a goal.

This term, things have been a little different with Salah’s performances being well below his usual standards.

Indeed, he has scored and assisted the odd goal here and there, but compared to last year, it feels like he’s half the player.

And, since he didn’t start the game against Frankfurt and Liverpool still managed to win, it’s shown Slot that his men can actually perform to a decent standard without the Egyptian King being on the pitch.

This can only be good news, as it means that players such as Federico Chiesa may start more games, and it may also allow Slot to experiment with his players a little more as the season goes on.