🔗 Share this article After Stifling Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior, Resurgent Liverpool Focus On Haaland Liverpool's manager demanded an encore of the team's showing versus Real Madrid when the Premier League champions travel to Manchester City this weekend. In place of Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior in midweek, substitute Erling Haaland on Sunday. Shutting down one more of the world's best attackers, while securing a third clean sheet consecutively, would reinforce the manager's declaration that Liverpool remain in contention for the major trophies. Perfect Remedy for Recent Woes The Champions League victory over Xabi Alonso’s La Liga pace-setters, who had 13 wins from 14 matches before their arrival at Anfield, was the perfect remedy for a Liverpool team aiming to recover from the wounds of a difficult spell of his tenure. Additionally, it served as perfect preparation for what awaits at the Etihad Stadium: an opponent that prefers to attack, that will not sit in a low block and carries an obvious, rampant threat. “It will be similar a little bit,” said Virgil van Dijk, who mastered Haaland at Anfield last season. “We are facing a high-flying side like today and a striker, like today, who was in form. When that happens you have to be precise and I think we showed we were good as a team defensively.” Reasons for Success Slot’s list for why things went right against Madrid – and Aston Villa on Saturday – were consistent with his explanations for why things went wrong during a run of six defeats in seven matches. More recovery time, avoiding early goals, and better conditioning of players such as Alexis Mac Allister and Conor Bradley following disrupted preparations played a part. They backed up his previous arguments and choice to sacrifice the Carabao Cup by fielding a weakened squad against Crystal Palace. The return of the familiar midfield trio of Dominik Szoboszlai, Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch enhanced the protection to Liverpool’s defense. The overdue return at full-back of Andy Robertson, who has started each of Liverpool’s past three wins, brought composure and leadership 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. His national team skipper is flourishing currently and has established himself as a key figure in the team. “Dom is consistently reliable,” commented Van Dijk. “He is very important. The work rate he brings during matches is remarkable, the skill that he has is exceptional and he is developing with every outing.” Next Challenge The midfielder started up front alongside Curtis Jones and scored at the Etihad last season as Liverpool surprised City by adopting a 4-2-2-2. That win in February put Liverpool well ahead at the summit with 11 games to play. On Sunday they will be playing catch-up but, as Slot reminded everyone after defeating Madrid, there is a long way to go for Liverpool to stage a recovery.