Arne Slot came away from his first Premier League match a relieved man after Liverpool overcame a slow start to beat Ipswich Town on Saturday.
The Tractor Boys were the better side in the first half of the contest at Portman Road, holding the visitors scoreless heading into the break.
The Reds were an improved outfit after the interval, with Diogo Jota breaking the deadlock on the hour mark, before Mo Salah doubled their lead just five minutes later.
“The first taste [of Premier League football] in the first half was maybe as expected because they were all on top of us, very aggressive. Second half was a joy to watch,” Slot told TNT Sports.
Salah – Liverpool ‘need to adapt’ to new boss Arne Slot
Asked what he said to his team at halftime, Slot replied: “First thing was we don’t have to speak about tactics if you don’t lose so many duels. I think we needed to win the long balls through the air. That helped and gave us control. I don’t think Ipswich could keep up with the tempo in the second half.”
Slot believes Liverpool were lacking physicality in the opening 45 minutes and failed to win the battles, but it was a different story in the second half.
“If a team plays all over the pitch one-v-one, do not always play the ball short constantly,” he said. “I didn’t see them fighting for it in the first half, we lost almost every long ball. In the second half they were ready and then gas opened up and you could see we can play quite good football.”
The Dutchman refuted the notion that midfield was a problem area for his side in the game.
“I don’t think our problem in the first half was midfield, our problem is we lost too many duels. A lot had been said about our signings but I saw three or four players coming off the bench and they were already good to play”
Slot also confirmed that the decisions to replace Jarell Quansah with Ibrahim Konate in a halftime substitution was a tactical decision.
