Arne Slot - Head Coach

Slot in the pre-match programme:

"That this is a massive game for us requires no explanation. Having worked so hard to reach this stage of the competition, we want – and need – to continue our journey, particularly after falling short in our attempt to qualify for the quarter-finals last season.

"This is not our only motivation, although it is clearly a big enough one in itself. We also have to aim to put right what was wrong at the weekend and also in other games this season.

"We owe this to ourselves and to our supporters and this, in my view, is as big a motivation as ever.

"A lot has been said about the reaction of our fans to our draw against Tottenham and all I can say is I get it.

"I get it from the point of view of disappointment at points being dropped, I get it in terms of frustration at conceding another late goal and I get it about elements of our performance in general.

"I would even go as far to say that it would not be normal if there was not frustration in a situation like this, particularly from those who care about our team and the club in general as much as our fans do.

"Our job now is to use that frustration in a positive way and for this reason it is clearly a good thing that not only do we have another home game so soon after but also that it is a home game of such crucial importance.

"This has to focus minds and heighten our desire to perform and deliver.

"After the support we have received throughout a season that has become more challenging than any of us could have expected, we owe it to our fans to produce for them. We also owe it to ourselves.

"We know it will not be easy. Galatasaray earned their place in the last 16 and they arrive here with an advantage from the first leg which we will have to overcome.

"But the standard of this club is about meeting challenges like this head on and that is exactly what we must do.

"This means it is a night for going the extra mile. The incentives are there and we must give everything we have got to secure them.

"Given the scoreline is tight, the possibility exists that we might need to go beyond 90 minutes and, again, this is something that we have to be ready for and even embrace in the event that this situation occurs.

"I have a lot of respect for Galatasaray, for their manager, Okan Buruk, and I also respect what they and their supporters did last week in Istanbul in terms of making the first leg as difficult for us as they possibly could.

"But at the same time, I know what our players are capable of and what our own fans can deliver on a big European night at Anfield, so I go into this game with confidence that we can make Anfield a really difficult venue for Galatasaray to play at, particularly as the stadium will be only Liverpool red for this fixture.

"Last week in Turkiye – and against Spurs on Sunday also – we had more than enough opportunities to score – and on top of this other chances to create opportunities to score – that it is clear that we can make things easier for ourselves if we become more decisive in the final third.

"If we do this, we will not only add goals, we will also create scoreboard pressure and give ourselves a better chance of managing games than has been the case lately.

"As I said, this is an obvious area for improvement and while we definitely have the talent to take the steps that are necessary, we cannot waste any more time striving for the progress that we know is necessary.

“The onus is on us. This is our opportunity to go to the next round and also to remind ourselves and everyone else what we are capable of. Let’s make the most of it.”

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I can not believe Slot wrote that he evidently was help by someone with PR experience. It reads well and it would have been nice to have had more of this over the season.
Still the distances between the lines and off ball movement against Spurs was soo bad it’s mostly clasping at straws. You don’t overcome that sort of disfunctional shit overnight.

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It’s a better statement than what he said under pressure. Even if it’s the club PR at least they have recognised it’s probably not a good thing to gripe at the people who pay money to watch them.

Fan base has every reason to react that way, we made Spurs look good. They are probably one of the worst teams in this league currently.

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And then picks the same players that haven’t performed!

It’s the club’s PR stepping in to help the club. It is not in the club’s interest to have a gap opening up between manager and fans, especially while we are still fighting in the CL and fighting to get into next season’s comp.

So the fans will get behind the team to get the result we need against Galatasaray, but Slot is obviously on very thin ice and most are expecting his departure. The main unanswered question is the timing.

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If he was a bit more reflective in real time, not bothered about post game but pre game comments have in my view been awkward as well then it would help.

If this is entirely PR led mind then it’s not if in the next 6 months but when.

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Take a night off ffs

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Would be a bold move.

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Arne In :face_blowing_a_kiss:

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The thing is, we’ve often played well intermittently, only to be absolutely terrible the next time. The trust is simply gone, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. I’m enjoying tonight and I’m really happy for the lads. But that doesn’t change anything for now.

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Exactly we need to see more of it and Substantive to change my mind which does change from end of the season to asap.

After tonight I’d say the end of the season.

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Well, let’s hope that light bulb in his nice and shiny bald head went on properly after the booing from the home match against Spuds, and realised that LFC supporters need energies from the players (and vice versa), and himself, to feed on. (I think that Macca and StevieG said the same thing on TNT post match too, well, they did not say the shiny and bright bald head part.)

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I’ve never seen him so animated on the sidelines. He was certainly feeling the pressure.

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It was nice to see a great 45 minutes followed by another great 45 minutes, haven’t seen a 90 minute performance like that since early last season

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I have been critical of Arne and his tactical setup and probably rightly so.

But well done today and great to see the emotion on the sideline, the team needed it we needed it.

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The match last night was very nearly the same as last season’s title winning tactics. Salah tucking in and being closer to the goal, the LW tucking in. Both wingers playing off the CF. The fullbacks providing the width required. The only difference this season and last season was we had TAA last season and Wirtz this season.

We didn’t have a lot of top class creativity in the team last season to break low blocks and TAA was used as the player to ping balls anywhere to force the opposition to shift their shape which gave us openings. This season, we have Wirtz instead who is a playmaker who thrives off dribbling with the ball on his feet and helping players to play off him/getting players to play him in.

For some reason, Slot tinkered a lot and fucked up the entire shape for the entire season, not realising that Wirtz can indeed have the same effect, if not a even better effect in breaking the opposition block compared to TAA. That also meant not much tinkering was actually needed.

If he somehow overcomes PSG over 2 legs, and overcome the winner of RM vs BM, we might really have the chance of winning the UCL this season. That will most likely guarantee his contract extension.

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That’s a lot of ifs.

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Yesterday, the players were allowed to play to their full potential. Normally, he lets them play in his own style, for fear of losing. Despite all the talk that he feels the board’s support, it became clear that he had been made to understand that continuing in this vein was unacceptable. Hence his Diego Simeone-style outburst on the touchline.

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The most interesting question is what’s next in the UCL against a very strong PSG.

Will he revert back to type or will he continue in this vein?

My guess is that he will revert back to type…

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