Arne Slot was full of praise for Liverpool’s second-half performance against Ipswich, but made it clear their display before half-time was “not enough.”
There was a distinct improvement from the Reds when they emerged for the second half at Portman Road, having gone in at the break with the score at 0-0.
Ipswich arguably had the better chances in the first half, with a closer share of possession (42-58%) and more shots on target, but Liverpool then dominated on their way to a 2-0 win.
That included 66 percent of possession and six big chances to Ipswich‘s zero, along with 15 shots on goal to the hosts’ three.
• ANALYSIS: How Slot’s half-time changes turned aimless Liverpool into slick victors
In his post-match press conference, Slot continued his early trend of straight-talking as he stressed that Liverpool’s performance in the first half was “not enough.”
“I inherited a very, very good team with a lot of great individuals but also these players have to understand that it is not enough what they brought in the first half,” he told reporters.
“If they bring the maximum of their capacity then they can play really, really good, and that’s what they showed in the second half today.
“It was good to see the goals we scored but I think the attack that would have probably been on Match of the Day tonight as well that didn’t lead to a goal was the nicest one, and that was the one Lucho just hit over the bar.
“That was the way I want to see the team doing more and more and more and more if they can.”
Slot made a change at half-time on Saturday with Ibrahima Konate replacing Jarell Quansah, noting that Liverpool “lost far too many duels” before the Frenchman came on.
“He, from the start, won his duels against the No. 9 and that gave us also a lot of ball possession and two goals,” he explained.
“But we could have scored a few more, though.”
The opportunity Slot mentioned for Luis Diaz – one of Liverpool’s six big chances – came when the Reds were at their free-flowing best, with the head coach clear that is what he “wants to see.”
It was expected that the Reds may struggle for fluency early on, but the Dutchman is looking ahead to this first stretch with only one game a week in order to work on the training ground.
“It’s also important for us to have weeks, like the upcoming ones, where we can work with the team to prepare them even better than we prepared them today,” he said.
“Because the first half was not good enough. The second half was a real good performance.”
Liverpool are in action again next Sunday, with the visit of Brentford to Anfield, before another six-day break ahead of the trip to Man United on September 1.
