Slot Talk: Squad Experience, Skillsets, and Luck

01/03/2025 02:00 PM

The Liverpool boss set expectations for Sunday's kick-off

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot spoke to the press ahead of Sunday's big kick off, and the Dutchman was keen not to speak flippantly about this Manchester United side:

For me, I said it before the first fixture and I can say it one more time, they have much better players, in my opinion, than maybe the league table shows at the moment. It's maybe going to take a while for Ruben Amorim to bring this out of the players, I don't know, but they will definitely go up and they are much, much, much better than the league shows at the moment.

The Liverpool boss is nonetheless confident in his own players, even as he played down their title-winning experience:

It's always important that you have players or staff members that know how to win things. But I would be surprised if I worked at a club like Liverpool that you would have told me, 'You don't have anyone who won the league in their career' because we are here at one of the best clubs in the world, so probably it's normal that there are players over here that have won many things in their career. So, it is definitely helpful but the most [important] thing that helps us winning games is work-rate and quality of the players. Of course, sometimes it can help if you are used to winning big games. That's what's quite normal if you play at this club – that you are used to playing big games.

Slot was also asked to speak about the players' ability to solve problems in-game, a skillset he'd noted on a number of occasions:

Yeah, [the] last half-hour against Newcastle, I saw players that really stepped up, a team that really stepped up. I think Southampton was a bit the same – not the League Cup game but the other one – when we were in a difficult position. So, definitely some moments and I can probably come up with some other games. But the one that really stands out was Newcastle. I think we had a tough first half, a tough first hour and then when Trent came in, when Dominik [Szoboszlai] came in and from the ones that stayed in the team, they found another gear and there you could see how special they are.

Reflecting once again on the opposition, Slot also addressed the frustrating fixture last season, wherein the Reds absolutely laid siege on the Manchester United goal, putting in 34 shots without finding a goal:

The things I have said many times, if you want to win a game then you have to outwork the opponent. Then, second of all, you need a good balance in set-pieces, especially in the big games against quality players. Then, if that is balanced out or that is the same, then it is mostly about the quality of the players, so if you have 34 shots then that tells me that maybe you need a bit of luck as well then maybe sometimes during a game. Maybe it was also really well defended by United; I don't remember the game really well, so maybe they threw themselves every time in front of the ball – that's also part of winning games.

We need to be in the best possible way prepared because every game in the Premier League is a difficult one, but especially a game where you face quality players that, I think, will feel this is a chance for them to make their fans proud again. So, if they do the same – winning at West Ham United away – the fans will like it, but it's even more important for them to win here at Anfield. Then, quality players are always dangerous if they set their mind to something, so we have to be really, really, really well prepared to beat United.