Arne Slot spoke about the things needed to win games after the defeat in the FA Community Shield final on Sunday.
Liverpool’s loss against Crystal Palace on penalties has raised a few question marks about the club’s upcoming season.
Slot started with a 4-2-3-1 formation as expected, but the starting XI had some surprises. Ryan Gravenberch was not even on the bench. Speaking to TNT Sports ahead of the 3 pm BST kick-off against Crystal Palace, Slot said: “Ryan Gravenberch became a dad last night.”
Also, Alexis Mac Allister didn’t start the match, as Slot had earlier mentioned that Macca couldn’t play a full game. Liverpool’s No.10 came on as a substitute later and played 20 minutes.
However, all four of Liverpool’s major summer signings started the match against Palace. Both goals for the Reds came from new signings — Hugo Ekitike and Jeremie Frimpong.
Meanwhile, the Merseyside club’s record-breaking signing, Florian Wirtz, also registered an assist in the final. The game ended 2-2 and went to penalties, where Liverpool lost 3-2.
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What Arne Slot said after the game
Slot said: “We are conceding more chances at the moment. If you want to compete to win the league, one of the main things is not conceding chances, let alone goals.”
Things might take some time, as the Dutch manager also explained: “We’ve replaced four players, and sometimes you need time to adapt offensively or defensively. Against Bilbao, we didn’t concede chances — just two set-pieces.”
He added: “I don’t think we conceded that much today, just two goals. Maybe I forget a few. It felt to me the equaliser was their second big chance of the game. There maybe needs to be a little adjustment defensively.”
Slot also spoke about the effect of the transfer window: “After two years of no change, we brought a lot of money in and then I think it is a good moment to get new energy in. We have lost four starters and players that have played a lot for us. Some wanted to leave, like Trent. As a result, we had to bring players in — and that’s what we did. We have to make sure we are ready.”
Finally, he said: “We conceded two goals today, just like we did against Bilbao, and also a couple more against Milan. It’s something we need to do better.”
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