Liverpool head coach Arne Slot felt that his side's 2-0 win over Newcastle United was a return to normality in terms of performance after the victory at Manchester City last weekend. The Reds had a record-low amount of possession on that occasion but quickly got back into their usual groove.
Slot, who was serving the first game of his two-match touchline ban, had a different view of the 90 minutes than usual. And from the stands, he could see that Liverpool was dominant and largely in control against a Newcastle team that it will face again in a few weeks' time at Wembley.
"As expected, even better than at the line but not something I prefer or want to do more often," Slot told the BBC. "But we still won the game. This was more like the way we've won the previous games. Difficult against Man City, that's separate. This was more like how we have been winning games all season.
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"The most important thing that after Everton, Wolves, and Villa, people started to doubt us. Then you have to react to that. That's always easier because people start to question you, but after City everyone was so positive then people start to get confident and complacent. Only the ones that want to achieve something, they find another gear to win the next game as well.
"We have had a lot of praise after City game but before that we had two draws and not the best game against Wolves so we were questioned. Nine out of 10 people say we're going to work harder. This was a different challenge because people were so positive after City, that needs a different kind of mental strength to then face a tough Newcastle side a few days later."
Next weekend, as a result of not being in the FA Cup, Liverpool doesn't have a game to play. And that will allow for some extra preparation time ahead of PSG, with the players afforded a couple of days off.
"Some players who need game time could have played," Slot continued. "Unfortunately, we don't play in the FA Cup this weekend, so we have a couple of days off, and some players need that, but others could've had a game."
Liverpool.com says: Slot is right to be pleased with how his players implemented the game plan. There was never any real danger to Alisson Becker's goal and Liverpool was in complete control. The goals came at good times and 2-0 was a fair scoreline.
