A second straight Liverpool defeat in a matter of days has not only removed another chance of silverware but has left them wobbling at the business end of the season, traditionally when great teams come into their own.
The loss will raise questions of the staying power of Liverpool's squad after they suffered a blip at roughly the same stage last year.
That ensured former manager Juergen Klopp finished his final season with only the League Cup to celebrate after they had led the Premier League heading into the spring and at one stage eyed a potential quadruple.
Slot's first campaign has brought lashings of praise for how well he has taken on Klopp's mantle and not just kept Liverpool on the rails but lifted them to the next level, polishing a promising collection of players to the point where they look almost certain to be crowned English champions.
This week has taken some of the shine off his debut season and he will be eager to snuff out talk of a wobble as quickly as possible with the league title within touching distance.
“It's part of football,” he said. “If you face strong teams, you can lose as well, but ideally you go through the whole season only winning, winning, winning. But yeah, it can happen that you also lose twice in a row.”
**Reuters**