Liverpool boss says his side are facing a “constant battle” this season
Liverpool’s chances of defending their Premier League title are slim and the race at the top currently belongs to Arsenal and Manchester City, according to Arne Slot.
A goalless draw with Leeds on New Year’s Day left Liverpool 12 points behind Mikel Arteta’s side and still searching for fluency, despite extending an unbeaten run to eight matches. Slot said his team’s position in fourth place reflects their performances so far.
“Realistically I think there are two teams,” Slot said, pointing to Arsenal and City. “Villa are really close, but those two teams are quite far away from us and we should not look at those two at this moment in time.”
Liverpool’s season has been a roller coaster. After a seven-game winning run at the start of the season, they had an outrageous autumn before managing to stabilise results. Slot acknowledged that while his side have managed to stem the tide, they are far from convincing.
“We have had our struggles throughout,” Slot said. “We started really well in terms of results, but games were really close. Then we had a phase where games were still close but we were constantly unlucky. Now we’ve been eight games unbeaten, but if you hear that you might think we are flying through the league. That is not what we are doing.
“Every single game we play it’s hard work. We are mainly the team that is probably better, but not enough.”
The stalemate against Leeds was Liverpool’s first 0-0 draw in 84 matches under Slot and highlighted their difficulty in creative play. The Dutch head coach confirmed that he feels his side have become more secure defensively but attacking play has not kept pace.
“It is clear and obvious that we hardly concede chances any more,” Slot said. “But it is also clear and obvious that we find it quite hard to generate enough chances for all the ball possession we have. That is not new for us this season.”
Slot said the effort and intent of his players cannot be questioned, but acknowledged something extra is missing in the final third.
“The players keep trying. They bring the ball towards the wingers, they make inside runs, they play and move,” said Slot. “But sometimes you need a kind of magic to unlock a game or a set piece. If that happens, everything looks much nicer. That is not our season until now.”
Asked whether Liverpool’s league position is fair, Slot agreed, even while pointing to fine margins that could have swung results.
“The margins are small,” Liverpool’s boss said. “They could have influenced us having three, four, five more points. But when I look at Arsenal, City and us, it wouldn’t be fair if we were above them for the way we have played.”
