Arne Slot reaction — Liverpool ‘under full pressure’ for Week 38 after failing to seal Champions League spot
Liverpool obtained a pair of targets from Virgil van Dijk however watched as Aston Villa scored 4 instances to leap frog them on the desk and safe Champions (*38*) soccer forward of them.
MORE — Aston Villa v Liverpool recap, video highlights
Arne Slot’s Reds are nonetheless in good place to attain the UCL by way of a top-five place, however a win would’ve been sufficient on Friday and Liverpool by no means actually appeared like that was within the playing cards.
So how did the underfire Slot see it forward of an enormous closing week sport at Anfield?
Arne Slot reaction — Liverpool ‘beneath full stress’ for Week 38 after failing to seal Champions (*38*) spot
Things fell aside after unlucky third objective? “That was definitely unfortunate if you want to call it that. It was a moment we were in a good moment. Similar in the first half because it came in a spell where we played acceptable. When you concede at 2-1 in the way we did, it led to a well-deserved win to them.”
You had management of sport but it surely slipped away? “We had control over large parts of the game but not after the 2-1 anymore. That’s also why they scored a 3-1 although it was from a set piece not open play. There was a part of the game where we definitely struggled with their pace, quality, and intensity.”
Defending has been the issue this season: “We’ve conceded far too many goals but we also didn’t score too many goals although two away at Villa Park is not too bad. But we conceded four and three out of four from set pieces and that’s too much.”
Why did the gamers fail to deal with the depth? “You’re referring to the period we struggled after 2-1 but overall I don’t think the players deserve what you’re saying. They did cope with this difficult away game. They were fully in the game but I agree with you after the 2-1 we crumbled.”
“That’s not for the first time. When we are the better team we struggle to find that goal mainly because we do not create big enough chances. And when we have a period of time where we are struggling or the other team is better than us, we tend to concede too easy, After this game I wouldn’t be surprised”
Now it’s essential to really feel actual stress to make the UCL: “We are under full pressure although it feels we have been under full pressure the whole season. The only thing we can do now is make a very good week and be very well prepared. As always we are hoping that our fans will be fully behind us because you could see tonight how important it is — as we’ve seen at Anfield — what it means to be all together.”
Rio Ngumoha to brilliant spot? “He was a big threat off the left. That’s so important for a team that has ball possession and trying to score. You need players like him to create something for you and he did that a few times today.”
