ReactionArne Slot press conference: Victory at Marseille, Salah, Gomez and more
Arne Slot praised his Liverpool team for the display that led to an impressive 3-0 victory over Marseille in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The Reds scored three at Orange Velodrome as Dominik Sozoboszlai, an own goal via goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli and substitute Cody Gakpo handed them victory.
Following the contest in France, Slot met with reporters post-match to discuss his team's penultimate league phase fixture.
Read on to see what the boss had to say in his press conference...
On the result and performance...
You know it is always very difficult to play against Marseille because of the passionate fans they have and the quality of the players. What makes it even harder is they have such a good manager, who always lets his team play so well. We were prepared for that. I think in the first half you could see we took the ball three or four times off them in very promising situations, but we couldn't find the player that was completely free. We were in four versus three situations a few times and the one time we did find the player, it was fractionally offside.
On the ball, I think we were controlled - although I maybe better not use that word because it has been [misinterpreted] a few times lately - but we could find players in between the lines, we could bring our attackers into promising positions. It took a while before we scored the second because I think we had chances earlier on to score the second. The thing that was different for the first time this season than all the other games was that the moment we were having a big chance to score the 2-0 that hit the post, 10 seconds later they had a big chance. Usually this season this ball goes in and we're all complaining, but now the ball went over, and we extended our lead to 2-0 and 3-0. The performance is still the same but the perspective of how people probably talk about us is completely different.
On whether he was 'looking for a response' from his team...
I can say it one more time, having a draw at home against Burnley is not the standard of this football club. But we've created three or four times more chances against Burnley than we did tonight, but we scored one and tonight we scored three. Even tonight, we created quite a lot of chances, by the way. Against Arsenal we played a very good game. Against Burnley, in my opinion still and everyone can disagree, we played a very good game.
Tonight, again, we played a very good game, but it is a completely different game because in a game like this tactical discipline, tactics, game-plan, it all matters. Where if you face a low block, you don't have a meeting to tell the players how they have to bring the ball out from the back because you already have the ball within 25 yards of the goal. I think Pep [Guardiola] said - and I have said this already 15 times this season - about the importance of players dominating one-v-ones against a low block yesterday evening as well, so maybe when he says it people put more emphasis on it.
On Mohamed Salah's return and performance...
It helps he is already for so long with us so he knows his teammates and he knows how we want to play. It says a lot about how big of a professional he is that being away from us for a month in a different team, he was so fit to play 90 today. He was close to a goal, a good ball from Cody and usually that's a goal for him. Tonight it wasn't but it didn't harm us because we scored three. I think overall, I saw a lot of very good individual performances as I saw against Arsenal, as I saw against Burnley and as I saw tonight.
The one I want to take out [and highlight] is Joe Gomez because he hasn't played a lot in the last one-and-a-half years. He suffered sometimes from injuries, sometimes I didn't play him when he was fit. A few times when he played were moments in [the] League Cup and FA Cup. Tonight he had an outstanding performance with an important role in our 3-0.
On the importance of avoiding the Champions League play-offs...
That has been crucial from the start because in the last 13 games we have only been 54 minutes behind. We have had multiple times a lead, but we have to play a lot of times with the same players because we have three long-term injuries. From the start of the season we haven't had as big a squad as some of our competitors have. It's a lot about the same players and I don't think it's the reason, but you never know if every time the same players have to play, or most of the same players, then that could be then maybe a reason why you run out of energy in some games where we've conceded. It is more than people understand.
We're already seven or eight months into the season and I don't think Virgil [van Dijk] has had more than three days off. It's the same for Ryan [Gravenberch] and it's the same for all these players. But they constantly show up and they constantly show mentality no matter how many setbacks we've had this season and today again as a team we had a very good performance.
On whether Marseille played how he expected them to...
There are always a few details where they adjust during the game because they then see the way we approach the game. But I think what you know about Marseille, what you know about this manager is they want to try and bring the ball out from the back in a certain style when they have a goal-kick and in open play they also have a certain style. But I could also see - and that's why he [Roberto De Zerbi] is also such a good coach, such a good manager - that he does adjust small things to our game-plan. That was what makes these games even for me much more interesting than facing low blocks because now you have to be sharp, you have to be alert and you have to adjust in your tactics and in your game-plan against low blocks it has nothing to do with tactics.
On whether it's 'easier' to play against a team who doesn't set up in a low block...
It depends because if you face low blocks you have the ball a lot and usually if you have the ball a lot you could assume you win the game. That would've been normal for us if you compare the chances we create and the chances we concede, but because of multiple reasons this season we weren't able to. If you tell me, it's nicer to approach a game when you watch games of Marseille or [Real] Madrid or Atletico Madrid or the games we've played in the Champions League.
The teams we've faced do mainly the same as they do in the other games, whereas in the Premier League it is seven, eight, nine games before we play them in a certain style and then they play us and they completely change their style. Then you're standing on the line and just having ball possession and hoping something happens. Of course, we train on certain things, and we try to make small details better. As Pep yesterday said, dominating the one-v-one is crucial against low blocks.