“We should have scored more than two goals” : Arne Slot gives honest assessment after Liverpool debut victory
The Reds kicked off their season with a victory over newly promoted Ipswich Town, credits to the goals scored by Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah. Although, the victory was not as comfortable as it should have been.
Ipswich Town were back in the Premier League after 22 years as they performed well in the first half, giving no shots on target to Liverpool and also outperformed them at certain aspects such as duel wins and progressive passes, showing plenty of promise. But the Reds showed their stature in the second half, after key tactical substitutions made by head coach Arne Slot.
But the newly appointed Dutchman was not wholly satisfied with the Reds’ performance, and believes they should have done better overall and not waste quality chances. Slot, although after an impressive second-half showing, showed his dissent post-match and wants more from his players.
“I said to them at half-time if you want to win here you have to win your duels and make it a fight. Ibou [Konate] helped us as he won his duels straightaway against the number nine and that gave us ball possession – we should have scored more than two goals,” said the Dutchman (during the post-match press conference).
“I have to give credit to Ipswich as they were aggressive and not afraid all over the pitch, they won more second balls and duels in the first half. That’s why it was an equal game. In the second half we won more duels and played the ball in behind. When teams play the risk of playing one-vs-one, when you have Luis Diaz, Mo Salah and Diogo Jota we had to use them – we did that better in the second half,” Slot added.
“It’s quite different for all of us, we need to adapt” : Mohamed Salah
Jurgen Klopp coached Liverpool for eight long years, and became one of the most important persons in the club’s history, as he marked one of the Reds’ greatest eras. Naturally, his absence can be felt by the whole squad, as the German made them reach the position they are at right now.
Mohamed Salah is no different, as he feels the team is ready but needs to adapt quickly to Arne Slot’s playstyle, which is stylistically not that different from the German. In a recent interview with TNT Sports, Salah mentioned about the importance of enjoying the game as well.
“It’s quite different. Jurgen was in the team for eight years, he gave everything, now it’s a new manager and new system. It’s quite different for all of us, we need to adapt. We just need to know his way of playing and enjoy the football. We don’t need to put more pressure on him, we just need to play football and enjoy our games. Let’s see in the end.” said the Egyptian.
With the first win sealed, the Slot era is up and running. Although Klopp’s ideologies will be shown across the players’ performances throughout the season, it will be up to the Dutchman to utilize and bring out their innate best.
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