NewsArne Slot press conference: Why Liverpool have to be ready for a 'fight' at Brighton
The Reds face a quick turnaround from the midweek Champions League win over Galatasaray as they head to Amex Stadium for a Saturday lunchtime kick-off.
Slot previewed the visit to the south coast at a press conference on the eve of the Premier League game – read on for a summary from it.
On what kind of style he is expecting to face at Brighton...
A very attractive and interesting style, which makes it again complicated as well, because we only have 62 hours of rest in between after we put in an enormous shift Wednesday, in terms of physical performance. Tell me what is smart – and, yes, I have to make that decision – but Jeremie Frimpong, for example, is such an explosive player, made so many sprints and so many times this season, unfortunately, when games came fast he got injured. Now, Joe [Gomez] being out, so you can already understand which questions we have to answer.
Now I'm only talking about Jeremie, but Brighton has always been a team, with their former managers and definitely with this manager as well, who always want to play, who always want to bring the ball out from the back, who are going to make it a very intense game because they've also seen how intense our game was, with their fans behind them. So, we've played them already twice this season and both games were fascinating, interesting, high tempo, high pace because we faced a team that wanted to play with us.
On improving the team's goalscoring record in the first half of games...
You are saying we're struggling to score goals and then you added in the first half. I would say we are struggling to score goals. Not that we don't score them, but with all the chances we create, it's unbelievable that we don't score more, especially looking at the quality we are having up front and throughout the whole team. But I don't look at games like that, like, 'OK, they will score in the second or the first half or are we first or second...'
No, we need to be ready from the start because they will make it a very intense game, as I just said, and apart from the physical part, it's mostly also emotionally and mentally. It's not always easy after such an emotional, physical and mental peak we had on Wednesday evening to then go to a 12.30 kick-off and face a team and fans that are not going to hold their hands in front of their face but want to come at it straight away. There we have to be very well prepared and be ready to face that fight and go into that fight with them.
On Brighton wanting to go 'toe-to-toe'...
It's really nice, it's always really nice. You'll probably say, 'Yeah, you always [have] something to complain [about].' But I would prefer to face a team now that maybe did this [raises fists] a little bit more! But if we would have had a week of rest then please bring us a fight like that. We're the only team, by the way – and that's not complaining, that's just being realistic – that played on Tuesday or Wednesday in Europe and all the teams are playing on Sunday, and we are the lucky ones that have to play 12.30 [an] away game against one of the most intense teams in the league. But we will be ready for it.
On 12.30pm kick-offs...
I don't mind at all playing 12.30 because we train – not today, a little bit later because we want to give them as much rest as we can because sleeping is very important in recovery – but usually we train a lot around 12.30, 1 o'clock. So if we could not perform at that time then it's really stupid to train at that time. I don't mind at all playing 12.30. Sunday evening I think it was 6.20 when we finished the game against Tottenham, then Wednesday evening a tough game that could have gone also to extra-time and then putting that team on a 12.30 kick-off for the sixth, seventh time this season – that is not what you would prefer as a manager. Let alone if you want to get the best performance or the best outcome, or the nicest game against two teams that are usually if they play against each other a joy to watch.
On whether Dominik Szoboszlai may again have to play at right-back due to injuries in the squad...
I don't know how many times I have to say this, and please keep asking the question because then I can every time tell you, Dominik is, for me, a midfielder. He is, for me, a midfielder – how many times should I say this? Five or six times? So, the moment I play him in a different position, that doesn't come because I think I want to be a tactical genius. That comes because I don't have other options available in that position and I try to choose the best available player for that position. And if I then sometimes play him there when there is a full-back on the bench, please ask yourself the question, 'Is that full-back then available to play that game? Is it smart to play him, or is it a big risk to play him?'
Because if I have another full-back available that is in good shape and in good form and is available to play, he will play there and Dominik will play in the midfield. So, every time I make a line-up from now on, you don't have to ask yourself that question – 'There must be a reason why he's playing right full-back?' – because Dominik is a very, very, very good midfielder for us. We have more than only Dominik, by the way, so that's also why I can bring him to another position. First of all, because he's able to play in different positions, because he's done really well also in that position. But if I have the chance, I play him in the midfield.
On whether it would make more sense to play Szoboszlai in midfield and someone else at right-back…
I don't completely agree. If everybody is available, the team is stronger when he's playing in midfield. But if we miss out five, six or seven players, which we've done a lot of times this season, then maybe we disagree. But then, for me, the team was then stronger when I made that choice by playing him at full-back and playing other players in midfield. Maybe I was wrong because we didn't win every single game he played at right full-back, but that was then my take on it. But if every player that we have in this squad is available, then the best team is not with Dominik Szoboszlai at right full-back.