ReactionArne Slot press conference: Verdict on Liverpool 0-0 Leeds
The Reds were denied a fifth win in a row in all competitions by a stalemate at Anfield on Thursday evening.
Read every word of head coach Slot's analysis of the game below.
On what he felt was missing for Liverpool in the contest...
A goal... that's the most simple answer. And to score a goal against a team that's defending so well in and around their box, there are a few ways to unlock it. That is for some teams in this league, or for a lot of teams in this league, a set-piece. We were close with Virgil [van Dijk]. We got eight - unfortunately, we didn't score. Another way of unlocking it is something we saw last week against Wolves, when Jeremie Frimpong had his moment of magic, a quick one-v-one where he brought the ball in, and I think he had a few of those moments today as well.
If you look at the bigger picture, so you forget the one-v-ones, I said to them at half-time [that] we can bring more bodies in the box than we in moments did in the first half. When we did cross, it would have been nice if there were more bodies in their box from us, not from them but from us. A lot of ball possession. I think we are the team with the most ball possession this year in the league, but ball possession means not a lot if you cannot create enough chances. To create chances against a low block you need pace, individual special moments to create an overload. You don't see a lot of 15-to-20-passes goals against low blocks.
And another way of course of unlocking is from a counter-attack or winning the ball back high up the pitch when they want to bring the ball out from the back. But if I simply look at the second half, I think their goalkeeper almost kicked every ball long. Then when you win it, there are 11 players in front of you. Everyone, including me, wants us to go forward as fast as possible but when there are 11 players standing in front of you in and around their box, it's not so easy to find players who are free close enough to the goal. That's why it was another time - not for the first time this season - we saw a team that wanted, tried, kept trying, but it was hard for us to find an opening.
On if he thought there could have been a penalty for a foul on Hugo Ekitike in the first half...
No, because he stayed on his feet. When he would have fallen down, that would probably be a penalty. But I can understand why he doesn't go down, because this season so many times when we were fouled inside the 18-yard box, we didn't get a penalty. So maybe as a result of that, players from us think, 'Yeah, let's then try to stay on our feet.' Because we've conceded a few where there was hardly any contact; Brentford away, Crystal Palace in the Community Shield, I can go on and on and on with soft penalties we've conceded this season. But when fouls were being made on us - Brentford away, Cody Gakpo, the referee said play on - maybe as a result of that, our players try to do everything to stay on their feet. Then it's hard for a VAR to interfere or a referee to give a penalty if you stay on your feet.
On what he said to the referee during the game...
I saw in the second half multiple times players who, what I would call, [were] being 'smart'. If a referee every time blows his whistle if you feel something or you get a little push and you dive and the referee every time gives a foul for that, maybe it is smart then to constantly fall. You are hoping that referees are recognising these situations, you are hoping that if we do everything to stay on our feet and if we go to the floor then they feel like, 'This might be a foul because these players usually stay on their feet.'
But the opposite is actually happening and that's frustrating for me to see because I think [there were] five or six free-kicks in their 18-yard box - there was one time a player that was on the floor, it was his body so we play on. Because even if we have four stitches on a head against Man Utd for a head injury, the referee says play on, play on, play on [and] we conceded. But now he didn't know how fast he had to give that free-kick, so if you then don't get the result you want, that adds up to frustrations I have in that regard. It is not the reason we didn't win - let that be clear - but it is the reason why I am sometimes a bit frustrated on the touchline.
On whether he would ever encourage his players to go to ground...
No, we keep doing the same things. I don't believe that over a season you get what you deserve: so, sometimes things go against you and sometimes things go in favour of you. I don't believe in that. But in a long time of two, three, four seasons then I believe in it, then things will be sometimes - a few times - good for you. I think I'm not wrong if I say we have only had one penalty this season. For the team that has the most ball possession and is attacking so much in and around the box of the other team, it is quite surprising maybe. But I will not encourage them to do that - and if I would tell you now I am starting to encourage that then probably we will never get a penalty anymore! So, no.
We are just who we are, we won the league by [being] the team we are last season. Of course, there will probably be one or two moments - I can remember one when Milos Kerkez went to the floor at Burnley away when he didn't get fouled. So, yes, you can find one or two moments when we go to the floor when there was not a foul, but I watch a lot of football and I see this happening so, so, so, so many times. But we stayed on our feet. Against West Ham when [Lucas] Paqueta did everything to get a second yellow card, one of my players tried to help him out not getting that one. Do we ever get the reward for that? I think asking the question is answering it as well.