Arne Slot has provided an “honest answer,” as he put it himself, when asked about why Liverpool have improved this week.The Reds had lost six of their last seven games going into Saturday’s match against Aston Villa.Another defeat would have equalled their worst league run for 72 years, but two wins and two clean sheets have lifted the mood at Anfield.Asked after Liverpool’s win over Real Madrid if he had noticed a change in mentality among his team, Slot said on Prime Video: “If you want my honest answer – that’s a difficult one standing next to someone from Manchester United (Wayne Rooney) – for me the difference is the playing style of the teams we face. “But then probably I get a lot of criticism again!”Before beating Villa and Real Madrid, Liverpool had lost to Brentford, Crystal Palace and Man United, all of whom had less possession in their encounters.The Reds had struggled to deal with their long balls, though, something Slot openly admitted after losing 3-2 at Brentford.Villa and Madrid, however, were less direct with their style, better suiting Liverpool.“You cannot compare a game of football where the other team wants to bring the ball out from the back and you play against a team that’s either themselves in a low block and playing a direct style of football,” Slot added.“And that’s what we faced many times. In the last two games we’ve faced a different playing style and I think then you saw a similar playing style from us that we saw last season.“But we have to make sure that against any playing style we face, we can win a game. Again, it’s shown the importance of set-pieces because most games we’ve lost we’ve conceded far too much.“If we would have done just as good in the Champions League as in the Champions League – we scored four I think in the Champions League. If we would have done the same in the Premier League, we would have been on much more points than we are now. “But we scored nil in the Premier League and conceded five. It’s difficult to pick up many points if that is your balance in the league.”The Reds have now won six points in the Champions League directly thanks to set-piece winners – Virgil van Dijk against Atletico Madrid and Alexis Mac Allister against their city rivals.While we don’t expect Liverpool to rely on them like Arsenal, a positive set-piece goal difference is a must as a minimum for any successful side.