Jota and Salah Secure Liverpool’s Victory in Arne Slot’s Debut

Arne Slot’s tenure as Liverpool’s head coach kicked off with a resilient 2-0 win over newly promoted Ipswich Town at a vibrant Portman Road. The match marked Ipswich’s return to the top flight after 22 years, but it was Liverpool who ultimately prevailed, thanks to goals from Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah.

The breakthrough came just after the hour mark when Jota finished off a well-crafted Liverpool move. The sequence began with the impressive Trent Alexander-Arnold linking up with Salah, whose precise low cross found Jota, allowing the Portuguese forward to side-foot the ball past Ipswich’s goalkeeper, Christian Walton.

Liverpool doubled their lead five minutes later. Salah, capitalizing on a pass from Dominik Szoboszlai, netted his ninth opening-day goal, setting a new Premier League record.

Despite their loss, Ipswich were a formidable opponent in the first half, nearly breaking the deadlock with Jacob Greaves’ header and Omari Hutchinson’s low shot. However, Liverpool found their rhythm in the second half, with Jota narrowly missing an opportunity before making up for it with his crucial goal.

The win not only gave Slot a positive start to his Liverpool career but also handed Ipswich their first home defeat in nearly a year.