Liverpool Will Not Alter Forward-Thinking Philosophy Despite Recent Slump, Insists Arne Slot
Liverpool's head coach has announced that the Anfield decision-makers agree with his assessment regarding the poor performance streak and he refuses to compromise their offensive approach in quest for a solution. The tactician acknowledged that six defeats in seven outings was below standard ahead of the weekend fixture with Villa.
Pressure Mounting During Challenging Phase
The manager acknowledged the pressure was on before his makeshift team were eliminated from the Carabao Cup against their Premier League rivals. However, he emphasized that this urgency to stop the losing streak is not coming from the team's proprietors or management structure following a substantial investment of approximately £450 million.
"Our views align," remarked the Liverpool boss, whose side will meet Los Blancos in the European competition and travel to Pep Guardiola's side in the English top flight.
Squad Quality Stays Unquestioned
Slot believes his team "have an unbelievable squad if they are completely available and all ready for the schedule ahead". He noted that the recent signings in talents including the German international and the forward, who is likely to miss out again against Villa through fitness issues, had left the club "in an excellent position for the near future and the distant prospects".
Team Cohesion Issues
When questioned about why his team were taking so long to gel, he answered: "You don't really help me. 'Why, why, why?' I provide reasons and people say I'm offering alibis. I can identify multiple factors why we are struggling for victories or suffering defeats as we do but, as I say every time, there are never enough excuses to have a run of form as we had now."
- Even if I could identify 200 excuses
- As Liverpool manager you cannot lose
- The reality is six out of seven
Backline Performance
Only the Clarets (21) have allowed more significant openings from open play this season than Slot's team (nineteen). The first-place team, the Gunners, have allowed just two. Yet Liverpool's coach rejects the team has been overly exposed and claims there is no reason to sacrifice his attacking principles for a more pragmatic style after ten fixtures without a shutout.
"In my view we're not allowing many opportunities so I find no basis to alter our approach totally but we need to do better in not conceding goals," he said.
Particular Cases
"Versus the Red Devils, how many openings did we give up? Against Eintracht Frankfurt when we were leading 3-1, we hardly conceded a attempt on goal. In each fixture we have competed in we haven't conceded a lot of chances. Not at all. We do allow a slightly more than the previous campaign but that stems from us being trailing by a goal so you take a bit more risk. But in general I don't believe that our challenge is that we allow too many opportunities. Our challenge is we are unable to finish the opportunities we generate."
