Arne Slot ponders what's going wrong with Liverpool's title defense| Image Credits: IMAGO/Xinhua
Arch-rivals Liverpool and Manchester United get ready for their first Premier League clash of the 2025-26 league season at Anfield on Sunday, October 19.
Defending champions Liverpool have suffered a blip in form, and the Reds’ head coach, Arne Slot, stressed on the importance of turning up and creating more chances irrespective of the opposition.
Slot was happy to divulge information on Ryan Gravenberch, who played only 45 minutes for the Netherlands in the 4-0 win against Finland during the international break.
The Reds manager said, “Ryan is completely fit. Although we still have to train twice, but if you ask me now, he's completely fit. We are in a good place with the Dutch national team. Ronald Koeman can make a decision either to play Tijjani Reijnders or Ryan Gravenberch, so he played them both 45 minutes.”
While the Dutch central midfielder is fit for the battle against the Netherlands, Ibrahima Konate remains a doubt after returning late from international duty. Alisson, on the other hand, is completely ruled out of Sunday’s high-profile clash.
Slot revealed, “Ibo (Konate) has come back to us, started his sessions again, and is expected to train with us today. And the third one is Alisson. He's not training with us, so he's out.
"Like I always say, it's so difficult to say because the end phase of rehab can always give you positives or negatives. But he will not play on the weekend, and also not next week as well.”
When asked about the areas where the defending champions need to improve if they want to retain the title this season, the 47-year old quipped, “If we compare ourselves to last season, we haven't created as many chances as we did from the start of last season.
"But we are still the team that, from open play, creates the most xG chances, most shots on target. But we've conceded too many goals, that's for sure.”
Slot continued, “We've conceded nine (goals), where four of them are from set pieces. That is what was and still is a strength of us, which sounds weird if you concede four, but that's not a reflection of the chances we've conceded in terms of set pieces.
"The other two were from fast breaks and three from open play. I think in open play, we are conceding too many crosses. So that is one of the things where we have to do better.
Liverpool defense reacts after conceding a late goal against Chelsea | Image Credits: IMAGO/Xinhua
Talking about the importance of bouncing back from three consecutive defeats, Slot said, “If you've lost three games in a row and you wear a Liverpool shirt, it doesn't matter who your opponent is, you have to react. And if there's one thing I cannot blame the players is that they give everything they have. Every single game.
"They go all in from the first till the last minute. This is what we did in the last three games as well. In all three games, we had to come back from being one-nil down. In two games, we managed to do so, but unfortunately not in the end, where we had chances in both games, maybe more than our opponent to win it.
"But if you've lost three in a row, it doesn't matter if Man United is coming or Brentford next week. There should always be a reaction.”
The Dutch manager also stressed on the importance of playing Manchester United quite early in the season and rather at a precarious stage which could define the Reds’ title defense.
He said, “I look forward to every single Premier League game, but maybe more towards the Man United one because I know how special it is and I've experienced it last year how special of a game it is. We know that it's probably the game that's been watched the most all over the world. So yeah, it's special to be part of it.”
Slot concluded, “In the end, it's also a game where we have to be at our best. Because United in my opinion has had a better start to the season than maybe the league table is showing. So yeah, very interesting game and a game to look forward to, especially because it's played at Anfield.
"Our fans have been so supportive of us as long as I'm here and long before I was here. I think they understand that the team has lost three times in a row. They need to be ready our team, and I think our fans can help us and will help us in some way.”
