Liverpool end poor run with 5-1 thrashing of Frankfurt

FRANKFURT, Germany :Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike scored a ruthless breakaway goal against his former team in a 5-1 Champions League thrashing of Eintracht Frankfurt that ended the Reds' woeful streak of four consecutive losses across all competitions.

The Germans started well and opened the scoring when Rasmus Kristensen struck in the 26th minute, firing past the outstretched hands of goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili and in off the far post.

But Ekitike drew Liverpool level in the 35th minute, collecting a long pass from Andy Robertson and racing from the halfway line before calmly slotting past goalkeeper Michael Zetterer.

Soon after, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate headed home from corners in the 38th and 43rd minutes aided by slack marking from Frankfurt to make it three goals for Liverpool in nine minutes.

Liverpool did not let up in the second half and Cody Gakpo extended their lead in the 66th minute with a sidefoot finish off Florian Wirtz's cross, one of two assists for Wirtz in his return to Germany.

Dominik Szoboszlai added a fifth goal four minutes later on a night that turned ugly for the home side when he drilled a low hard shot from just outside the box 25 into the bottom corner.

AGGRESSIVE LIVERPOOL

Liverpool had 14 shots on target to Frankfurt's one, keeping Zetterer on his toes all night.

The goalkeeper made a terrific save of a shot from Mohamed Salah, who came off the bench for the second consecutive Champions League game, in the dying minutes.

The decisive victory was a much-needed confidence boost for Arne Slot's reigning Premier League champions, who had lost four straight games for the first time since November 2014.

"I don't know if it's a statement but it is a win and something to build on," Van Dijk