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Liverpool's manager has called for a repeat of the team's showing against Real Madrid as the Premier League champions travel to Manchester City this weekend. In place of Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior on Tuesday, substitute Erling Haaland on Sunday. Shutting down another of the world's best attackers, while securing a third clean sheet in a row, could strengthen Slot's post-Madrid message that Liverpool remain in contention for the biggest prizes.

Perfect Remedy for Recent Woes

Their European win over the Spanish side's La Liga pace-setters, who had 13 victories from 14 matches before their arrival at Anfield, was an ideal solution for a Liverpool team aiming to recover from the wounds of a difficult spell of his tenure. Additionally, it served as perfect preparation for the challenge ahead at the Etihad Stadium: a rival that wants to play out, that will not sit in a defensive block and poses an obvious, rampant threat.

“It will be similar a little bit,” said Virgil van Dijk, who mastered Haaland at Anfield last season. “We're up against a high-flying side like today and a striker, like today, who was on fire. When that happens you have to be spot-on and I think we showed we were good as a team defensively.”

Key Factors

The manager's reasons for the successful performance against Madrid – and Aston Villa last weekend – aligned with his explanations for why things went wrong during a run of six losses in seven matches. Additional rest, not conceding first, and better conditioning of players such as Alexis Mac Allister and Conor Bradley after injury-hit pre-seasons played a part. They backed up his earlier points and decision to sacrifice the Carabao Cup by using rotated players against Crystal Palace.

• The return of last season’s midfield core of Dominik Szoboszlai, Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch boosted the defense to Liverpool’s defense.
• The welcome reappearance at left-back of Andy Robertson, who has started each of Liverpool’s past three wins, restored calmness and authority to a defence.
• The German playmaker impressed again in the Champions League but not from the No 10 role he has occupied in the Premier League.

Szoboszlai’s Influence

Szoboszlai was again Liverpool’s driving influence in the centre. The Hungary captain is excelling this season and has cemented his place as a leader in the team.

“Dom is consistently reliable,” said Van Dijk. “He is very important. The work rate he brings on the pitch is remarkable, the quality that he has is outstanding and he is learning each and every game.”

Looking Ahead

The midfielder started in attack alongside Curtis Jones and scored at the Etihad last season as Slot caught City cold by adopting a alternative formation. That win in February put Liverpool 11 points clear at the top with 11 matches to play. On Sunday they will be playing catch-up but, as the manager emphasized after defeating Madrid, there is a long way to go for Liverpool to mount a comeback.