Liverpool's new weapon and three other key things learned as Arne Slot stops losing streak with Frankfurt win

Defeats to Crystal Palace, Galatasaray, Chelsea and Manchester United saw many fans start to lose patience with the Dutch coach, who delivered the club's second-ever Premier League title last season.

But a resounding victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany will keep the pressure off for now after a 5-1 win.

However, it did not start well for Slot, with Frankfurt going a goal ahead through former Leeds star Rasmus Kristensen.

Liverpool showed good character to overturn the deficit, though, scoring three times in nine minutes before the half-time whistle.

Former Frankfurt star Hugo Ekitike equalised for the Reds, latching onto an Andy Robertson pass to execute a fine counter-attack before two goals from corners.

Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate breezed into the box mostly unchallenged to give Liverpool some breathing space before half-time and the three points.

Cody Gakpo wrapped up the result after the break to give Liverpool a major confidence boost following a turbulent period, with a first assist for the club for £116million man Florian Wirtz.

The German also claimed his second assist, rolling the ball to Dominik Szoboszlai who let loose from distance to make it a mauling. But what did we learn this Wednesday night?

Set-pieces the way forward

Slot appears to have taken a leaf out of Mikel Arteta's book after Liverpool fought back to land victory through their set-piece prowess.

With the scores level at 1-1, two corners in the first half saw the visitors take control of their match with goals from both centre-backs.

Van Dijk and Konate rose the highest as Frankfurt heads looked puzzled, unable to deal with the brute strength of the two defenders.

Both of them are big lumps and would give any defence a problem in the box and might be something for Slot to ponder in the Premier League.

It is certainly working for Arsenal, who might not create the most open-play chances but are still sitting pretty at the top of the table largely down to their set-piece wizardry.

Who needs Salah?

Before a ball had been kicked, Slot's line-up saw a major omission - Mohamed Salah.

In truth, Liverpool's all-time Premier League top scorer cannot complain after a miserable patch of form that has seen him miss glaring opportunities against United and Chelsea in recent weeks.

Instead, Slot chose to play 4-4-2 with Alexander Isak and Ekitike up front with Florian Wirtz and Cody Gakpo on the wings.

Will Liverpool utilise this formation going forward? Is Salah no longer a definite starter at the club? Whisper it quietly, but the Reds might be a better team without the Egyptian right now.

Liverpool's empty midfield

Against Manchester United, it was shocking how much space the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro had in the middle of the park.

And Liverpool did not learn their lessons with the same Grand Canyon-sized holes in midfield, with Frankfurt taking advantage early on.

Kristensen's opener came about after a lovely move from the German side, while Mario Gotze and Hugo Larsson propelled the ball forward with ease.

Where is Liverpool's midfield? In the past few years, their intensity in this position had been a hallmark of their destructive play.

The Reds outgunned their opponents in the end but that issue will give Slot something to think about when his side return home.

Ekitike better than Isak at the moment

When Liverpool signed Ekitike and Isak, nearly everyone reckoned it would be the latter that would be the club's main man.

But the Sweden international has scored just once after his £125million move from Newcastle whereas Ekitike leads the goalscoring charts for the Reds with his sixth goal of the season.

It was also his first Champions League goal for his new club, coming against the side that Liverpool paid £80million for his services.

Dropping the Frenchman to the bench for the loss to United was bizarre at the time, Slot cannot afford to leave the forward out at the moment.