The Premier League leaders were heavy favourites to beat the division's rock bottom club at Anfield on Saturday, but they fell a goal down just before half-time when Will Smallbone's strike stunned the Kop end.

Slot was watching on from the stands as he served the second of his two-match touchline ban, and the Dutchman looked visibly distressed with his side's display.

The changes had the desired effect as Liverpool woke up after the break, with Darwin Nunez levelling from close range before two Mo Salah penalties secured a 3-1 win and stretched the Reds' lead at the top of the table to 16 points ahead of Arsenal's trip to Manchester United on Sunday.

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Reds vice-captain Alexander-Arnold has tended to shy away from the cameras this season amid ongoing uncertainty around his contract and constant links with a free transfer move to Real Madrid, but he spoke to LFCTV after Saturday's match and said Slot was as animated as he's been all season at the break.

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As a team and individuals, you’d like to be very good every single game but it’s not possible.

“You are going to have days like this where you don’t play well, you’re not proud of the performance.

The win sets Liverpool up perfectly for the Champions League last-16 second leg against Paris Saint-Germain and Tuesday and next Sunday's Carabao Cup final agaiinst Newcastle, and Alexander-Arnold added: “You can’t downplay too much how important today’s win was, to go 16 clear at this stage of the season is huge and puts a lot of pressure on Arsenal.

“We’ve done our work in the league now until after the internationals, now we focus on the two other competitions."

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