placeholder image
Getty Images
Liverpool have a battle to finish in the Premier League top five ahead of facing Everton in the Merseyside derby.
Arne Slot has suggested Liverpool’s inconsistencies and habit of conceding late goals is because he has been unable to rotate his team as much as he’d like.
The Reds have six games remaining before a dismal 2025-26 comes to a conclusion. At the beginning of the campaign, Liverpool were favourites to defend their Premier League title - but they are just fifth in the table. And after spending circa £450 million in the summer transfer window on the likes of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, albeit losing some big players including Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Diaz, the elimination from the Champions League quarter-finals at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain means the Reds will end the season trophyless.
Consequently, pressure has piled on head coach Arne Slot ahead of Sunday’s Merseyside derby against Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Injuries have played their part in Liverpool’s woes, with Hugo Ekitike the latest to suffer a long-term issue when rupturing his Achilles against PSG. Alexander Isak is only just back from a broken leg, while Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni (both knee) and Wataru Endo (ankle) are prolonged absentees.
Liverpool’s sole aim for the rest of the campaign is to finish in the top five and qualify for the 2026-27 Champions League. Asked if there will be improvements because there aren’t any more midweek matches to prepare for, head coach Slot replied: “I think we have seen this season a lot of good performances but also a lot of inconsistency in the performance, in my opinion, mainly due to the amount of games with almost the same players, If you look at the 15, 20, 25 players with the most minutes this season, a lot of them are from us.
“That tells you a lot and one of the reasons why we have been a bit inconsistent, maybe why we have conceded so many late goals because it is always the same players.
“The last game, I had to bring Joe in and bring him out, there were three players playing in the right full-back position again, as it has so many times this season. It is definitely helpful most of our players except long-term injuries are available and they only play once a week because it has shown a large part of our group are ready to play every three days, that’s why so many are in the top 25 of minutes but it has also shown not all of them are able to play 90 minutes every three days; either they are injured or their performance drops.
“Maybe from that perspective, it is a good thing we are not in Europe anymore but I would definitely prefer to play in Europe because that also gives an energy to the group if you go to the semi-final of the Champions League. I don’t see it as a positive thing, we are out, but it is the reality and we have a bit more training time now.”
Continue Reading