Arne Slot reaction: What did Liverpool boss say on draw with Chelsea?

Liverpool manager Arne Slot shared his reaction to a disappointing 1-1 draw at home against Chelsea on Saturday.

Slot’s side took the lead but couldn’t build on it and even though they had chances to win it late on, a draw was probably a fair result.

Here is the latest Arne Slot reaction from Anfield.

Arne Slot reaction

On the game overall being breathless and Liverpool’s performance and the result: “I think we started off really well, scored a goal, got a big chance from a set piece where we were close to scoring a 2-0. Then in quite a large phase of the game we struggled to control their sixes, they were constantly able to find them and set up an attack. Unfortunately, like last week we conceded a set piece. That makes it really hard in a top game to win a game of football if you have a negative balance in set pieces. Especially if you look at it and it’s such a sloppy goal, whatever word you want to use,” Slot told TNT Sports in the UK.

“It wasn’t a great cross and no header, nobody touched it and it went in the second post. Second half, apart from the third minute where they scored where they were fractionally offside, I saw a team that had a completely different intent and a completely different intensity in terms of pressing. We were a few times close, like so many times this season. Hit the post, hit the bar, but not enough to win and that is why it ended 1-1.”

On why Liverpool lost control in the first half: “As I said, we weren’t able to control their players. They played with a lot of midfielders today, brought a lot of players towards the ball, and if you then go man to man, which we didn’t do, you have a chance to control them. But we kept plus one in the back for reasons I think is smart. That is why they constantly have a plus one and if these players have a plus one like Chelsea, they are able to play through them. The second half we changed our setup in terms of pressing a little bit. Not a little bit, a bit, and that worked better than in the first half.”

On the boos from fans when Rio Ngumoha came off and why he thought it was right to bring him off: “I don’t think it was some of them, there were a lot that didn’t agree with that change,” Slot laughed. “Which I completely understand if you just look at how he played. But it does make sense that three minutes before he goes to the floor and to the ground and having problems with his muscles and then I ask him, he said ‘hmm, not sure if I can continue’ and the idea was maybe not to take him off. But when he gave the signal he wasn’t completely ready to continue then it makes complete sense. I knew this would have been the reaction because he is such a popular figure and played a good 65 minutes. As is so often in football people don’t know everything and that how it works. It is what it is. I’m the manager I need to make decisions. Sometimes people are happy with them, sometimes they don’t. Today clearly they weren’t. Maybe knowing now why makes more sense for everyone.”

On the boos on the final whistle: “That probably has to do with us not winning. So a draw for the last five games we’ve won three, lost last week and today a draw, that is not what we want, we want to win all five. Last week we had a negative balance in our set piece, today again conceding a set piece and we were very, very close with Virgil to score one ourselves, so it completely makes sense if people are disappointed if we don’t win. Because that is what we want. We want to win. It should be like that. If Liverpool doesn’t win then no one can be happy with that.”

Ryan Gravenberch reaction

On if Liverpool’s dressing room is disappointed: “Yeah, of course because we have to share the points. We wanted the three points but obviously they are a good team. They did very well here. I think at the end they deserved a point as well,” Gravenberch told TNT Sports.

On Rio Ngumoha: “He is really good. He is only 17 and you see how he plays, every time he gets the ball he wants to take the one-v-one. He is fantastic. I hope he can keep going like this.”

On if he felt like it was there for the taking: “Of course. We create chances. The one with Dom [Szoboszlai] was a good save from him and the other one from Dom on the post and I think if we are then a bit lucky this one would go in. But in the end we didn’t make it so a bit disappointed.”

On the boos at the final whistle from the home fans: “To be honest we need them behind us. What they do, okay, we don’t win, but I think we don’t really deserve this you know? Fans have to keep behind us for 90 minutes because when I think it was the second half we then went behind us we needed it. Hopefully the next few games they will do the same.”

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