Liverpool head coach Arne Slot was in the stands rather than on the touchline for his side's 2-0 win over Newcastle United midweek following his sending off against Everton.
And his reaction to the second goal — scored by Alexis Mac Allister — was spotted by the cameras. The Dutchman, who is usually cool and composed on the touchline, celebrated the goal that clinched the Liverpool win with some raw emotion on show.
Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai got the first goal of the night for Slot's men. With Arsenal only able to draw 0-0 with Nottingham Forest, the pair of results extended the gap in the Premier League table to 13 points, though the Gunners still have a game in hand.
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Slot celebrated with Liverpool moving a comfortable distance ahead. After beating Manchester City by the same 2-0 scoreline a few days earlier, it has been a very successful period for the Reds.
"What impressed me most was that this was our fifth game in 15 days and the four before weren't the most simple ones," Slot said during his post-match press conference. "So, Everton we all know how an emotional game that was for both teams but definitely for us as well and then Wolves and then two difficult away games with [Aston] Villa and [Manchester] City.
"To show up the way we did tonight, hardly conceding a chance against a very good team like Newcastle, is a big compliment for the players [in] how they handled these five games in 15 days. After Everton, a bit [after] Wolves, maybe a bit after the Villa game, people started to question us a bit and normally when players or people get questions, you always see extra work rate.
"That's quite normal and what I saw us doing against City. But if you get a lot, a lot, a lot of compliments, eight out of 10 people get a bit complacent — but only the ones that want to achieve something don't. That mentality of these two out of 10 I saw tonight because they just found an extra gear to work even harder.
"We weren't perfect. I think we lost more simple balls than we usually do. But the mentality was great again, as well as the squad performance."
Liverpool.com says: Slot will not admit it until it is mathematically done and dusted, but the Reds boss must feel that the title is close now. With such a big gap at the top, Liverpool should be able to allow a bit more of the focus to move to the Champions League, with a double-header against PSG coming up in the next couple of weeks.
