By LEWIS STEELE
Published: 16:13 EST, 10 December 2024 | Updated: 16:23 EST, 10 December 2024
Arne Slot on Tuesday night fumed that he was ‘far from pleased’ with his team despite Liverpool beating Girona to make it six from six in Europe.
A Mohamed Salah penalty in the second half kept up the Reds’ 100 per cent record in the Champions League to all but secure their passage to the knockout stages.
But Slot did not like his side’s performance and said: ‘If you ask me about all the six games, I’m really pleased with all the results. I’m really pleased with the first five games, but I’m far from pleased about the performance tonight.
‘What wasn’t I pleased about? I wasn’t pleased with a lot. If you play against a team that has such a good idea about football and knows how to bring the ball out from the back like some of the teams we’ve played recently such as Real Madrid and Manchester City, you need to be so intense if you want to make it difficult for them.
‘But if you are waiting a few seconds to press them then this team can cause you a lot of problems. I almost feel sorry for them as they deserve so much more.
Arne Slot was unwilling for his side to rest on their laurels after sneaking past Girona away
Returning No1 Alisson was forced to work hard by Girona's probing attack as the visitors saw out a narrow escape in Spain
‘We have an incredible goalkeeper. But the other thing is every time we lost the ball, we were not aggressive enough and they could go almost all the way to our goal and have a shot.
‘We had hardly any control at all over the game. Maybe the second half was a bit better – I’m trying to be positive.’
It was Alisson's turn to prove Liverpool's saviour after an extended spell on the sidelines had elevated reserve goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher in recent weeks.
Upon his return to the starting XI, the Reds No1 was forced to work hard as Girona's attack persistently provided Liverpool with food for thought.
But the deadlock was finally broken when former Manchester United player Donny van de Beek clipped Luis Diaz in the penalty area, before a laser-like Salah stepped up to assure Liverpool's spot at the summit of the Champions League table.