Salah, Marseille and Slot: Control, Chaos and Liverpool’s European Night

Liverpool’s 3-0 victory over Marseille in the Champions League was, on paper, decisive and serene. In practice, it was something else entirely: a study in pressure, patience, and perspective. On a charged night at the Orange Velodrome, Arne Slot’s side delivered a performance that was part authority, part escape act, and part quiet statement of intent.

As reported by Liverpoolfc.com in the aftermath of the match, Slot was keen to frame the result not as a sudden transformation, but as confirmation of patterns already present beneath recent frustrations. The goals from Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo, and an unfortunate own goal were merely the punctuation marks on a longer tactical sentence.

This was not simply about Salah returning, or Marseille faltering. It was about Liverpool rediscovering rhythm in Europe, and about a manager intent on controlling the narrative around his team.

Pressure, Control and the Marseille Atmosphere

Slot began by acknowledging the environment and opposition, framing the night as a genuine test of his team’s resilience and composure.

“You know it is always very difficult to play against Marseille because of the passionate fans they have and the quality of the players,” he said. “What makes it even harder is they have such a good manager, who always lets his team play so well.”

Liverpool’s early dominance did not immediately translate into goals. Instead, it produced moments of promise that hovered just short of fruition.

“We were prepared for that. I think in the first half you could see we took the ball three or four times off them in very promising situations, but we couldn’t find the player that was completely free.”

Slot was careful with his terminology, aware of how language can distort perception.

“On the ball, I think we were controlled – although I maybe better not use that word because it has been [misinterpreted] a few times lately.”

This was a performance built on positioning, spacing, and patience. Liverpool found players between the lines, stretched Marseille’s structure, and slowly drained the energy from the stadium.

It was not spectacular. It was something more durable.

Salah’s Return and the Value of Continuity

Mohamed Salah’s return after a month away was one of the evening’s central storylines. Not because he dominated proceedings, but because he fitted back in as though he had never left.

“It helps he is already for so long with us so he knows his teammates and he knows how we want to play,” Slot explained. “It says a lot about how big of a professional he is that being away from us for a month in a different team, he was so fit to play 90 today.”

Salah came close to scoring, most notably when set up by Gakpo.

“He was close to a goal, a good ball from Cody and usually that’s a goal for him. Tonight it wasn’t but it didn’t harm us because we scored three.”

In a team now shaped by Slot’s emphasis on collective structure, Salah is no longer required to be everything at once. His value lies in consistency, intelligence, and the gravitational pull he exerts on defenders.

Slot’s broader assessment underlined this collective emphasis.

“I think overall, I saw a lot of very good individual performances, as I saw against Arsenal, as I saw against Burnley and as I saw tonight.”

This was not about individual redemption arcs. It was about continuity.

Gomez, Discipline and Tactical Intelligence

Among those performances, one stood out for Slot.

“The one I want to take out [and highlight] is Joe Gomez because he hasn’t played a lot in the last one-and-a-half years,” he said. “Tonight he had an outstanding performance with an important role in our 3-0.”

Gomez’s display embodied the discipline that underpinned Liverpool’s night. This was a game of positioning, anticipation, and subtle intervention rather than last-ditch defending.

Slot used the occasion to contrast European competition with domestic challenges.

“In a game like this, tactical discipline, tactics, game plan, it all matters,” he said.

Against teams who press and build, Liverpool can prepare, adapt, and respond. Against low blocks, the challenge becomes psychological as much as technical.

“Where if you face a low block, you don’t have a meeting to tell the players how they have to bring the ball out from the back because you already have the ball within 25 yards of the goal.”

Slot’s admiration for Pep Guardiola’s analysis was telling.

“As Pep yesterday said, dominating the one-v-one is crucial against low blocks.”

In Marseille, Liverpool were allowed to play. They responded with intelligence.

Energy, Injuries and European Momentum

Beyond tactics, Slot returned repeatedly to questions of energy and sustainability.

“That has been crucial from the start because in the last 13 games we have only been 54 minutes behind,” he said, highlighting Liverpool’s habit of playing from the front.

But success comes at a cost.

“From the start of the season we haven’t had as big a squad as some of our competitors have.”

He pointed to the relentless demands on key players.

“We’re already seven or eight months into the season and I don’t think Virgil [van Dijk] has had more than three days off.”

Despite this, Slot emphasised mentality.

“They constantly show up and they constantly show mentality no matter how many setbacks we’ve had this season.”

In Europe, where rhythm matters more than raw volume, Liverpool appear to be finding balance. The Marseille victory was not flawless. It was something better: adaptable, intelligent, and repeatable.

Slot summed up the night with quiet satisfaction rather than theatrical triumph. This was not a turning point. It was confirmation.

Liverpool, under his guidance, are learning how to win in different ways.