Liverpool Will Not Change Attacking Style Despite Recent Slump, Says Slot

Arne Slot has said nan Liverpool level stock his views connected nan reasons for nan team’s slump and he will not wantonness an attacking style successful hunt of a measurement out. The caput coach admitted that six defeats successful 7 games was unacceptable earlier Aston Villa’s sojourn connected Saturday and denied making excuses for Liverpool’s worst home tally successful 72 years.

Slot accepted nan pressure was connected earlier his makeshift squad exited nan Carabao Cup against Crystal Palace connected Wednesday. That unit to apprehension nan slide, however, is not, he insisted, coming from Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group, FSG’s main executive of football, Michael Edwards, aliases nan sporting director, Richard Hughes, aft a summertime transportation outlay of almost £450m.

“They opportunity akin things,” said Slot, whose squad adjacent week look Real Madrid successful nan Champions League and recreation to Manchester City successful nan Premier League. “I speak chiefly to Richard and erstwhile successful a while to nan others. They besides spot akin things arsenic what I see. For maine nan conversations haven’t changed a lot. We ever talk astir nan crippled and it’s ever nicer to talk astir nan crippled if you person won than if you person lost.”

Slot believes Liverpool “have an unbelievable squad if they are each fresh and each fresh for nan programme we are facing”. He said nan summertime finance successful players specified arsenic Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, who is expected to beryllium sidelined again against Villa done injury, had near nan nine “in specified a bully spot for nan short-term early and nan semipermanent future”.

Asked why his squad were taking truthful agelong to gel, he replied: “You don’t really thief me. ‘Why, why, why?’ I springiness an mentation and group opportunity I’m coming up pinch excuses. I tin travel up pinch 5 aliases six reasons why we are not winning arsenic overmuch aliases losing arsenic overmuch arsenic we do but, arsenic I opportunity each time, location are ne'er capable excuses to person a tally of shape arsenic we had now. No matter if I could travel up pinch 200 excuses, erstwhile you are Liverpool you cannot suffer – for maine – 5 retired of six, but nan reality is six retired of 7 [Slot was discounting nan Palace conclusion from Liverpool’s caller run].

“There will ne'er beryllium capable reasons but erstwhile I came past play each players were fit, and each players had – arsenic a minimum – 1 twelvemonth of Premier League experience. So they cognize what it is to play during nan week and past spell to Brentford connected Saturday. And they were each fresh and stayed fit. We had our issues successful pre-season [this summer] pinch players not being fresh and players who came successful later. It has been much of a struggle to support them fresh aliases get them each fit.”

Only Burnley (21) person faced much large chances from unfastened play this play than Liverpool (19). The convention leaders, Arsenal, person faced two. Yet Slot denies nan champions person been excessively unfastened and claims location is nary logic to sacrifice his attacking principles for a much pragmatic style aft 10 games without a cleanable sheet. “I don’t spot america conceding a batch of chances truthful I don’t spot a logic to alteration our playing style wholly but we request to do amended successful not conceding goals,” he said.

“Against [Manchester] United, really galore chances did we concede? Against [Eintracht] Frankfurt erstwhile we were 3-1 up, we hardly conceded a changeable connected target. In each nan games we played until now we haven’t conceded a batch of chances. Not astatine all. We do springiness distant a spot much than past play but that has to do pinch america being 1-0 down truthful you return a spot much risk. But successful wide I don’t deliberation that our rumor is that we concede excessively galore chances. Our rumor is we don’t people nan chances we create.”