Liverpool face Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night – live on TNT Sports and discovery+ – and manager Arne Slot spoke to TNT Sports ahead of the game. He reflected on his side’s 2-1 home defeat by Manchester United, a fourth consecutive loss in all competitions, and the Dutchman was at pains to explain that he was not being critical of Ruben Amorim’s approach.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot clarified his comments on Manchester United’s ‘long-ball’ approach in their recent 2-1 defeat, emphasising that he aimed to complement Ruben Amorim’s effective game plan that frustrated the Premier League champions.
Harry Maguire’s late header on Sunday afternoon sealed a fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions. In three of those, Liverpool equalised but then conceded late on, with similar 2-1 losses to Crystal Palace and Chelsea in the past month.
Slot bemoaned the lapse in concentration from his players in the aftermath of the most recent setback, which came despite Cody Gakpo striking the post on three occasions, among other gilt-edged chances which went begging at Anfield.
Ahead of Liverpool’s UEFA Champions League encounter against Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday, live on TNT Sports and discovery+, Slot’s preparation was dealt a further blow when the team’s flight out of Liverpool John Lennon Airport was delayed, meaning his press conference on Tuesday was cancelled.
But in his only sit-down interview with TNT Sports before Matchday 3, Slot had the opportunity to clear up his assessment of the Man Utd defeat, stating that Amorim had been “smart” in making life difficult for his side.
“We faced a team that had their game plan very well in order,” he told TNT Sports reporter Jules Breach.
“There was a bit of a debate over what I said after the game, but it was meant to be a compliment… so, they had a low block and played a lot of long balls. I was asked why it was difficult, and that was the reason.
“It wasn’t criticism, it was me trying to explain why the game was made difficult. If you win the ball back after they’ve played it long, there are 11 players behind the ball. I would add that, to a certain extent, I was positive that we created as many chances as we did.
“Against [Crystal] Palace, we were able to create a lot against a low block, the same against United, but not many games since I’ve been in charge have we been able to create many chances against a 5-4-1 low block. It wasn’t meant as a criticism at all.
“It was a very smart game plan and certainly their last three signings – two of them for sure – had an impact on the game, in [Matheus] Cunha and [Bryan] Mbeumo.”