Liverpool manager Arne Slot conceded his team need to get their act together in defence when they begin their Premier League campaign, after defeat in the Community Shield to Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The Premier League title holders have spent heavily in the summer, signing playmaker Florian Wirtz, plus forward Hugo Ekitike and attacking full-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, even as key players departed Anfield.
Liverpool won the league in Slot's first term with only Federico Chiesa added to the squad left by former boss Jurgen Klopp. Fans would have expected the team to only grow stronger after the transfer spree.
The new-look Liverpool side has started brightly, scoring 20 goals in six pre-season friendlies. But after conceding two goals to Palace, having shipped eight in their last four warm-up games, Slot expressed concern that Liverpool's improved attack may have come at a price.
“Last season we had a lot of ball possession but that didn't always lead to promising situations,” Slot said after they were beaten 3-2 on penalties following a 2-2 draw with Palace.
“Now we are better in creating and getting promising situations than we were, in my opinion, throughout the whole last season.
“But the other side is also true. What made us really strong last season was we only won mostly [by] a margin of one goal and that had mostly to do with us keeping a clean sheet or as a maximum conceding one goal.”
He added: “It needs maybe a little bit of adjustment defensively at the moment because we don't concede a lot of chances, but we do concede goals at the moment.”
Still, Slot is confident Liverpool can integrate their new signings, adding that “sometimes you need some time either to adapt offensively, to adapt defensively”.
Liverpool maintained their pattern of pre-season friendlies as they were cut open with ease on the counter-attack. AC Milan beat Slot's team 4-2 in Hong Kong, while Liverpool edged out Athletic Bilbao 3-2 in one of two friendlies against the Basques on their return to Anfield on Monday.
“If you look at our attacking play against a team that is so compact, that might be a bit better than last season,” said Slot.
“We only could score one goal against Palace [last season]. Now we scored two and created more against them.
“But, on the other hand, we conceded two goals, which we did against Bilbao, and we conceded a couple more against Milan, so that is something we need to do better.”
There was an unfortunate incident during the match that caused consternation.
A tribute to former Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva was disrupted when some fans failed to observe a moment's silence.
Before the game at the Wembley Stadium both teams and their staff stood silently to commemorate the brothers, who died in a car accident in Spain in July. A minority of fans broke the silence, eliciting a strong response at the other end of the field as well as from other Eagles supporters who tried to silence those not respecting the tribute.
Referee Chris Kavanagh then blew his whistle to signal the end of the tribute.
Liverpool manager Slot later played down the incident.
“I don’t think this was planned, or that this was the idea of the fan that made some noise. Maybe he wasn’t aware of the fact that it was the minute of silence,” he said.
“And I think then the fans of Palace were trying to calm that person or those persons down … They tried to calm him down, but that was a bit noisy as well. And then our fans reacted, ‘Hey, what’s happening here?’”
Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
PROFILE OF STARZPLAY
Date started: 2014
Founders: Maaz Sheikh, Danny Bates
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment/Streaming Video On Demand
Number of employees: 125
Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners
Towering concerns
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The Bio
Ram Buxani earned a salary of 125 rupees per month in 1959
Indian currency was then legal tender in the Trucial States.
He received the wages plus food, accommodation, a haircut and cinema ticket twice a month and actuals for shaving and laundry expenses
Buxani followed in his father’s footsteps when he applied for a job overseas
His father Jivat Ram worked in general merchandize store in Gibraltar and the Canary Islands in the early 1930s
Buxani grew the UAE business over several sectors from retail to financial services but is attached to the original textile business
He talks in detail about natural fibres, the texture of cloth, mirrorwork and embroidery
Buxani lives by a simple philosophy – do good to all
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203S%20Money%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20London%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Zhiznevsky%2C%20Eugene%20Dugaev%20and%20Andrei%20Dikouchine%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%245.6%20million%20raised%20in%20total%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions