Liverpool manager Arne Slot admitted that discussing a Premier League title challenge was premature given their current form, as he candidly analysed his side’s 3-0 defeat to rivals Manchester City on
Sunday.
The loss marked the reigning champions’ fifth league defeat of the season, surpassing last season’s total, and dropped Slot’s men to eighth place after 11 games. They are now eight points behind leaders Arsenal and four points adrift of City.
“It feels there’s too many (losses),” Slot told reporters. “And the last thing I should speak about now is the title race. We should first focus on getting results — result after result after result — before we can even think about that. The reality is that we are eighth.
“I said last season, many times, the best way to judge the league table is, of course, after 38 (games), but the next best thing to judge it is after 19 games (the season’s halfway point), because then you all faced the same opponents.
“And the last thing we should focus on is on the title race. We need to improve. And that’s obvious.”
Liverpool had arrived at the Etihad on a high after recent victories over Aston Villa and Real Madrid, which had halted a streak of six losses in seven games across all competitions.
The Dutchman was frank in his assessment of the match, conceding that City were dominant, particularly in the first half.
“Everyone is disappointed,” he said. “It was a very good start of the week, winning at Villa, winning against Real Madrid. But if you thought you already faced two strong opponents, then Man City comes across you away — also at the Etihad which is for every team difficult, including us.
“And they were by far the much better side in the first half.”
Frankly Not Fair
Slot also voiced frustration over a disallowed goal by Virgil van Dijk, suggesting inconsistency in officiating. Liverpool defender Andy Robertson, who ducked as the ball went into the net, was deemed to have interfered with play from an offside position, leading to the goal being disallowed.
“For me that is a goal,” Slot said. “Immediately after the game people showed me the goal City made away at Wolves last season. For me, that is a similar one. I was surprised because the first thing you do when you score is look at the linesman — it took 14 seconds before he raised his flag.”
City defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 last season after John Stones scored a controversial 95th-minute winner, heading home Phil Foden’s corner. The goal was initially ruled out for offside because Bernardo Silva stood in front of Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa as the ball went into the net, but it was overturned following a VAR review.
Still, Slot did not use the disallowed goal as an excuse for the loss.
“These things didn’t help us,” Slot said. “But again City being 2-0 up at halftime was a fair reflection for the score.”
(With inputs from Agencies)
