Cliff Notes – Arne Slot ‘relieved’ as Liverpool secure much-needed win
- Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over West Ham marked a crucial turnaround after losing nine of their last 12 matches, alleviating pressure on manager Arne Slot.
- Alexander Isak scored his first Premier League goal for Liverpool, contributing to a performance that saw the team avoid conceding an early goal for the first time in many games.
- Slot emphasised the importance of not falling behind early, stating that controlling the game at 0-0 allowed for a more strategic approach to securing the win.
Arne Slot ‘relieved’ as Liverpool secure much-needed win
Beth LindopNov 30, 2025, 05:35 PM
CloseBased in Liverpool, Beth Lindop is ESPN’s Liverpool correspondent and also covers the WSL and UWCL.
Arne Slot has admitted he was “relieved” to see his struggling Liverpool side clinch a 2-0 victory over West Ham United following a torrid run of form.
The Premier League champions have lost nine of their last 12 games in all competitions, with Wednesday night’s 4-1 defeat to PSV Eindhoven dialing up the pressure on the Liverpool boss.
However, the Reds returned to winning ways at the London Stadium, with goals from Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo sealing the three points.
Asked what he felt at the full-time whistle, Slot said: “Relief, although I said immediately to my colleagues that it might be handball so I wasn’t surprised it took a while [to be confirmed]. I was happy when the referee pointed for the kick-off that it was 2-0.
Alexander Isak scored his first league goal for Liverpool in the win over West Ham. Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images.
“In terms of results, it is of course very good, but there were also a few things similar than recent games of ours and a few things that were different.
“The things similar were we couldn’t score our first chances, but the good thing was for the first time in many, many, many games, the first chance of the opponent didn’t go in as well. The best thing it was their only chance and it was after 90 minutes.
“It’s happened so many times to us that the first chance the opponent has, it goes in. Then you get a completely different game as we saw so many times now. Not conceding a set-piece and actually scoring from one as it came from a long throw, it took a while, but these are things that are so important if you want to win a game of football.
“People might say we had more control and didn’t concede as much but it makes quite a difference when you don’t go 1-0 down after five minutes and have to chase the game, at 0-0 you are controlling the game and at 1-0 you are in control even more.”
Isak’s goal was his first in the Premier League for Liverpool. Asked whether the strike had been a long time coming, Slot added: “That is also a bit unfair to him.
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“Normally, as a No. 9, in general, he plays more minutes than I have played Alex now because of the obvious reasons. Even today, I had to take him off after 68 minutes.
“He has played a lot of games, but in terms of minutes, not so much. It’s very important for us as a team that we went 1-0 and important for him because it was his third chance of this game and I don’t think there was much more than 10 minutes left in him.
“To score just before you come off is important for us and him.”