ReactionArne Slot press conference: Verdict on Manchester City 4-0 Liverpool
Read every word from Arne Slot’s reaction to Liverpool’s 4-0 loss against Manchester City in the Emirates FA Cup.
The Reds were eliminated at the quarter-final stage at Etihad Stadium on Saturday, with Erling Haaland (three) and Antoine Semenyo scoring the goals for the home team either side of half-time.
Head coach Slot provided his assessment of the game at a post-match press conference – see a full transcript below.
On the performance and result…
I don’t think you have to ask me about the result, because that speaks for itself. That’s an unbelievable disappointment. Losing is already a disappointment, losing with 4-0 and in the quarter-final of the FA Cup against a team which Liverpool played so many times great games against – or fights against – and then losing 4-0 is, of course, a big disappointment. The 20 minutes where we conceded four goals were not of our standards.
On how he ‘turns this group into one that can go and beat Paris Saint-Germain’ on Wednesday, with the Champions League the final chance of silverware this season…
Yeah, that’s for silverware. But it’s also very crucial that we qualify for the Champions League of course for next season. There are only three or four days to go, so there are a few things you can do and one of the things we need to do if we play against Paris Saint-Germain or against Man City – teams of this level – you need to defend better than we did in the 20 minutes when we conceded the four goals. I think no-one will probably remember it but [in] the first 35 minutes there was a lot to like from my team. And it would be nice if we then can score a goal once in a while as well from the chances we create. And, again, we faced a team that was outperforming their xG by a mile, and that’s what happens constantly. And we every time are under that. But if you want to have a chance of beating Paris Saint-Germain, you have to do both parts better. If you generate chances, you have to score. And you cannot be so easily beaten with the four goals; three, because the penalty was between the other goals we conceded.
On if he ‘needs more from senior players to help him’…
No, I wouldn’t like to point out to individuals after a loss like this or after a disappointing season that we are having. I think it’s about the team. Mo [Salah] had a few good chances, which is always important because you want players like him to get chances, and I think that’s what in general we did this season, getting him or other players in good positions. Unfortunately, if you look at not only today but the whole season, the amount of goals we scored is far too low for the amount of chances we created, but definitely for the Liverpool standard.
On Dominik Szoboszlai saying ‘fighting spirit wasn’t there’ and if that is a worry…
I should ask him what he means – what he means and what period of time. If he felt that was the whole game, I did not feel this until the moment they scored the 1-0. And I think after they scored the 1-0, we were still in the game. But then we had a throw-in, twice we conceded when we had a throw-in. And they go so fast. In those moments you have to defend sharper. The second goal was a similar one we conceded earlier on this season over here. And the second time that we concede just before half-time, playing Man City. I miss the fighting spirit definitely in the first 10 minutes after half-time and then afterwards it was just a game where both teams accepted it was 4-0. But in that 10, 15 minutes of time, I missed fighting spirit but just the willingness to win your duel, to be there first, to make it difficult for either a pass or a cross or a finish. Yeah, that is something that we definitely have to do better on Wednesday.
On his message to fans after a frustrating day…
We don’t want them to leave early – we have to perform better. That’s the first thing. And we have to show now that we react after a loss like this and after so many disappointments we already had this season. The good thing is the fans have always been supportive, even today; during large spells of the first half they were very loud, before the game they were very loud. So, it’s up to us not only to react for them but also to ourselves. And that’s what we need to do Wednesday, when we again face a very good team, where we again need to play as we did in the first 35 minutes. But in moments of defending, we need to be much more ruthless than we’ve been today.
On whether he feels his players ‘aren’t doing the basics’...
I don’t agree with what you’re saying, but in moments you are completely right. So if you tell to me from the 15 runs Man City are making, 15 times my players don’t run, I disagree with you. But if you simply look at the goals, there I see runs that are not being followed, I see crosses are not being blocked, I see duels in front of goal that are not won. Then you are completely right. That’s not the story of the whole game, but every single time we forget to block a cross, we forget to defend in front of goal, we forget to follow a runner... every single time it’s a goal.
On the period after going 1-0 behind...
Again, in the moments – I don’t think they had a chance after 1-0 until they scored the 2-0 – I completely agree with you. If you look at the way we concede the goal, I see the same pattern. That’s not the pattern over 90 minutes, but that’s a pattern in how we concede a goal and then you sometimes miss the lack of [needing] to understand that if you’re 1-0 down just before half-time, you have to do everything right to go with 1-0 down to half-time. Sometimes it’s about maybe trying to score the 1-1, but in other moments making sure you don’t concede. Like I said, in those 20 minutes the way we defended when we conceded the four goals is absolutely not good enough. And then I see exactly the same things as you.
On what he puts it down to...
It’s a bit of everything. Effort comes first, I think. Of course, if you look at how they outplayed that in the timing, the moment when Haaland comes in, but I think we have to try to make it more difficult for them than we were doing because they’re already good players. If you don’t make it difficult to good players, it’s immediately a goal – and that’s what we saw four times. Wednesday we face again very good players, so we have to make it more difficult for them in those moments when we have to defend them than we did today.
On what he believes causes ‘the difference’ in the play after going behind...
Could be a bit of everything, of course, but like I said, it wasn’t as if it was chance after chance after chance. So, when it’s chance after chance after chance and you concede, you start to feel like maybe we should change our game plan or our tactics. But if it’s moments, which it was because I don’t think there are many more chances than the goals they scored, then it’s about understanding the importance of a moment and understanding that you need to be ruthless in those moments, even if things go against you or you mentally maybe find it a bit hard that again you’re 1-0 down after 35 minutes where you felt you were at least equal to the other team. This has happened many times to us, so yes [a] mental [aspect] could be a part of that but it’s never an excuse because if you play in this shirt, if you play for this club, then being 1-0 down or 2-0 down is never an excuse not to put that effort in that specific moment in. Then it’s almost impossible to get a result if you face teams of this quality; if you let your runner go or you don’t block a shot or you don’t block a cross against players of a different level, you can maybe get away with it, but not at this level.
On suffering 15 defeats this season and what he does to try to improve the team’s form...
I think throughout the season, it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, you constantly adjust to what you think is necessary to win the next game. So if you’ve won three, you’re also wondering yourself what should I do next to make sure they’re ready for the next one? And this is also what the current situation is. The reaction is not always the same after the 15 losses we’ve had and you try to react in a way or do the things that I think we as a staff think is necessary to either challenge them or get them back on track again for Wednesday evening.