Liverpool need to score more and do better, says Arne Slot

LONDON – Liverpool manager Arne Slot knows his side have no time to lick their wounds after back-to-back defeats, as they prepare for their Premier League trip to Chelsea on Oct 4.

The stakes are high. Second-place Arsenal can climb to the top of the table ahead of kick-off at Stamford Bridge should they beat struggling West Ham United.

Liverpool, meanwhile, are heading into their match on the back of a 1-0 Champions League defeat by Galatasaray and a 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace.

“I saw a team that wanted to try everything to get a result,” Slot insisted on Oct 3 as he reflected on the midweek loss.

“Different to the Palace game, we won much more second balls and were like in the Palace game close to a result. Last season margins were so small and that’s the same this season again.

“We are trying to find a way that isn’t about luck or set-pieces or something... I’m happy with the amount of chances we are creating from them but we need to score more. We need to do better.”

A week ago all seemed to be going to plan for defending champions Liverpool, who boasted a perfect record of seven wins from as many games in the Premier League, Champions League and League Cup.

However, many of those victories were earned with last-gasp goals, papering over the cracks as Slot sought to find the right balance in a squad transformed during the transfer window.

The Reds splashed out nearly £450 million on new talent but also lost a number of key players including Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Diaz to fund those moves.

The bulk of the spending went on Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, but neither of the £100-million-plus signings has yet scored for the Reds in the Premier League.

The remodelling of the Liverpool attack has also reduced the impact of Mohamed Salah, who started Tuesday’s defeat to Galatasaray on the bench.

At the other end of the pitch, new full-backs Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong have been exposed while Ibrahima Konate is woefully out of form, with his future at the club in doubt.

“I’m not watching a top team,” said former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher.

“Liverpool aren’t playing football at the moment, they are playing basketball. It is just end to end and I don’t think top teams play like that.”

Slot, meanwhile, also confirmed Liverpool have been dealt a major injury blow with goalkeeper Alisson Becker expected to be sidelined for several weeks with a hamstring problem.

But both Hugo Ekitike and Federico Chiesa are in contention for the visit to Chelsea.

Despite Liverpool’s flaws, Chelsea would love to be in their shoes.

Enzo Maresca’s men are seven points behind the leaders after taking just a single point from their past three matches.

Chelsea may be paying the price for their exertions in winning the Club World Cup in July, with injuries and suspensions already piling up.

Cole Palmer, Liam Delap and Levi Colwill are among notable injury absentees, while Trevoh Chalobah is banned after his red card provoked a collapse from 1-0 up to a 3-1 defeat at home to Brighton last week.

“There is a vulnerability about any team in the world, not just Liverpool,” said Maresca as he assessed his side’s chances against the Reds.

“But if a team wins every games, it is impossible to catch them. Now they lost one or two games that shows vulnerability. This is something for every team in the world. You can drop points against any team in the Premier League.

“Every game is different. We are going to try and prepare the game in the best way possible. Even if they have dropped points, they have shown the reason why they won the Premier League.” AFP

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