Arne Slot described Liverpool's second-half performance as a "joy to watch" after his new side started their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 win over Ipswich Town.
Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah were on target after the break as Liverpool claimed a deserved victory in Slot's first competitive match at the helm.
The Reds needed an hour to make the breakthrough as the Tractor Boys put up a spirited performance in the first half, but they were utterly dominant once Jota finished a flowing move with a neat side-footed finish for 1-0.
Liverpool racked up 15 shots worth 2.61 expected goals (xG) in the second period and limited Ipswich to just three attempts, none of which hit the target.
Slot's team had been out-shot by four to three in the first 45 minutes and struggled to get a foothold as Ipswich won 58.5% of duels contested, leaving the former Feyenoord boss to praise his team's ability to change things at the interval.
Asked how he judged Liverpool's display by TNT Sports, Slot said: "It depends which half you're asking about! The first half was not action-packed because they were right on top of us.
"They were very aggressive, we couldn't find a rhythm or find those balls in behind, but the second half was a joy to watch.
"The first thing I said is we can't speak about tactics if we lose every duel. It was not that Jarell [Quansah] lost every duel, but we needed [Ibrahima] Konate to win those long balls in the air. That gave us control.
"I don't think they could keep up with our tempo in the second half. Gaps opened up and you saw that we can play some quite good football."
Much has been made of Liverpool's failure to add a new midfielder this off-season, with Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi rejecting the chance to move to Anfield.
Slot, however, was impressed by the performances of starting trio Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, saying: "I don't think our problem in the first half was the midfield.
"I was pleased with them and a lot has been said about signings, but I saw two or three come off the bench and they are good enough to play in our team.
"We have many good players, but like I said, if we can find another one, we will not hesitate to do so."
Despite some expecting a season of transition after almost nine years under Jurgen Klopp, Slot knows Liverpool must look to be in title contention this campaign.
"I'm not looking so far forward to the end of the season. I think in every game we have to do everything in terms of defence but also with the ball," Slot said.
"You saw last season how close the games were. If Son [Heung-min] scored [against Manchester City] we could've had another champion, but he didn't and City were champions. We have to make sure we are up there with those teams."
Howe: Schar red card 'galvanised' Newcastle in 'unbelievable' Southampton win
Eddie Howe believes Fabian Schar's early red card helped "galvanise" Newcastle United during their 1-0 victory over Southampton.
The Magpies made a winning start to the new Premier League season, with Joelinton's 45th-minute strike settling matters at St James' Park.
Although, the hosts were forced to play for over an hour with 10 men, as Schar was dismissed for violent conduct after squaring up to Ben Brereton Diaz, who appeared to go to ground a little too easily.
Nevertheless, they withstood their numerical disadvantage and stubbornly kept Southampton at bay, with Lewis Hall clearing off the line to deny former Newcastle striker Adam Armstrong.
The Magpies' fourth straight Premier League win over the Saints came despite them enjoying just 22.3% of possession, and registering only three shots to their opponents' 19.
"It wasn't an enjoyable game to experience," Howe said. "The result is unbelievable for us, but how we got there was very, very difficult.
"The sending off changed the game completely. Contact was minimal. It was a harsh sending off, but we'll learn from it.
"I don't know if a sending off ever truly helps you, but it gets the crowd to inspire you – and that made a difference. We needed something to galvanise us and [the red card did]. We had our backs to the wall and I think [the fans] knew how much we needed them.
"Last season, we scored a huge amount of goals, but conceded too many. We've done a lot of work on our defensive shape in pre-season. The players regrouped today and produced a great display. To a man, we were blocking shots, we were covering space very well."
Howe also saluted stand-in skipper Bruno Guimaraes, who wore the armband with Kieran Trippier on the bench, for his all-action display in the middle of the park.
"I thought he led by example," the Newcastle head coach said of the Brazil international, who led the way with game-high tallies of 12 duels won, six fouls won and four tackles won.
"Defensively, he covered every blade of grass. He was immense today. I thought Sean [Longstaff] and Joelinton were equally good."
Nottingham Forest 1-1 Bournemouth: Semenyo salvages draw for Cherries
Bournemouth began life without Dominic Solanke by battling to a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest on the opening matchday of the Premier League season.
Andoni Iraola's second season in charge of the Cherries looked set to begin with a defeat when Chris Wood pounced from close range to give Forest a first-half lead.
However, Bournemouth plugged away in search of a leveller and were rewarded in the 86th minute as Harry Toffolo's clearance rebounded kindly for Antoine Semenyo to lash home, having been selected as a central striker following Solanke's move to Tottenham.
Forest's frustrations were compounded by a potentially serious injury suffered by Danilo, who received lengthy treatment before being carried off on a stretcher in the first half.
The draw is the first to be played out in the 2024-25 Premier League season and leaves Bournemouth and Forest in sixth and seventh respectively, with one point apiece.
Data Debrief: Semenyo the away-day specialist
Selected to lead the line following Solanke's move to Spurs, Semenyo bailed Bournemouth out at the death following a largely turgid attacking performance from the Cherries, and he is developing something of a reputation as an away-day specialist.
He has now found the net on four occasions in his last eight away games, after scoring just once in his previous 16.
His goal ensured Forest's poor record on the opening day was maintained. They have not started any of their last seven seasons with a victory, last doing so against Bristol City in the Championship in 2018.
Havertz hails 'unbelievable' Saka as Arsenal tame Wolves
Kai Havertz labelled Bukayo Saka as "unbelievable" as his team-mate was the catalyst for Arsenal starting their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 win over Wolves.
England winger Saka produced a wonderful cross for Havertz to head home the opener at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Provider then turned scorer in the second half when Saka cut inside Rayan Ait-Nouri and drilled low into the near post.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Havertz said: "Saka is unbelievable. There are not a lot of players like him on the planet and he is still so young.
"He can get better. It is very rare to see a young player like this perform every week at the highest level."
Arsenal were impressive in the first half but were thankful to David Raya for a couple of big saves and there was a noticeable shift in atmosphere during a second period in which Wolves posed a few more questions.
But manager Mikel Arteta was impressed with the way his side, who finished second to Manchester City in the league last season, were able to ultimately get the job done to start the new campaign with three points.
"I am really happy. With the first game you have some uncertainty in how you will respond," he said.
"We had our moment after 1-0 when we were not in control but after Saka's goal we were much more comfortable. The way the boys go about their job is unbelievable, so very happy.
"We knew Wolves could change the game and they did in the second half but with our changes we became a bit stronger.
"We certainly are. We had a really good pre-season. There are things to improve for sure, but overall very happy.
"The lack of control in the second half [we can improve], we gave so many simple balls away. We also had to finish situations better but overall very happy."
Wolves boss Gary O'Neil felt his side applied themselves well and thought the visitors were the more likely to score with the game at 1-0.
Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: "I thought we were good. I was pleased. I obviously don't like losing but we gave Arsenal a tough game. We restricted them to not too many chances.
"In terms of being in the game and having a chance I felt that, at 1-0 down I felt we were more likely than them.
"I'm pleased with what we were able to produce, but I've spoken to the players about the little details, especially against teams like Arsenal.
"They found two moments of quality and we just missed a couple of ours."
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