Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has stressed the importance of guaranteeing a top-eight Champions League finish after their 3-0 victory in Marseille made it all the more likely.
For only the second time this season Slot’s side beat a top-tier side by three goals – Eintracht Frankfurt the other back in October – courtesy of a Dominik Szoboszlai free-kick, an own goal from Geronimo Rulli and a late Cody Gakpo strike.
The win lifted Liverpool into fourth, two points ahead of ninth-placed Barcelona, with Qarabag to come at home next week as they seek to avoid the play-off round and go directly into the last 16.
“It’s very important because we have had to play with the same players because of injuries for most of the season,” said Slot after his side extended their unbeaten run to 13 matches, currently the best in Europe’s top-five leagues.
“That could be the reason why we have run out of energy in some of the games when we’ve conceded.
“I don’t think Virgil (van Dijk) has had more than three days off, the same for Ryan (Gravenberch) and others but they constantly show up no matter how many setbacks we’ve had this season.
“It’s always very difficult to play Marseille because of their passionate fans and the quality of their players, but what makes it even harder is the quality of their manager.
“We were prepared for that. We took the ball off them three or four times in the first half but couldn’t find the player who was completely free, apart from one time and he (Hugo Ekitike) was fractionally offside.
“On the ball we were controlled but what made the difference this time was that after we had a big chance and hit the post, they had a big chance and put it over: usually this season that goes in.
“But we were able to make it 2-0, 3-0 and so that makes the perception of the game completely different.
“Against Burnley (Saturday’s 1-1 draw) we created three or four times more than we did tonight but tonight we scored three.”
The match also marked the return of Mohamed Salah after his month at the Africa Cup of Nations immediately off the back of his explosive comments about being “thrown under the bus” as results took a dive.
“It says a lot about how big a professional he is that he can be away for more than a month with a different team and be so fit to play 90 for us after one day’s training,” added Slot.
“He was so close to a goal, it would usually be a goal from him, but it didn’t harm us because we scored three.”
Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi was unhappy with his team’s performance.
“We played poorly, conceding a silly goal before half-time,” he said.
“We lost possession too often in the middle because we misunderstood the game, we misjudged their pressing. We had a few chances that we didn’t manage well. We still have too many ups and downs in our matches.”
