Arne Slot has said an early Champions League exit may have contributed to Liverpool winning the Premier League title last year but said his team must improve in both boxes to secure silverware this season.
Slot has faced renewed criticism after his side’s 13-game unbeaten run ended at Bournemouth on Saturday, leaving the reigning champions sixth in the Premier League.
Liverpool’s contrasting form in the Champions League means a place in the last 16 will be guaranteed with victory against Qarabag at Anfield on Wednesday. Slot’s defensive options will be limited against the team from Azerbaijan with Ibrahima Konaté absent following the death of his father and Joe Gomez injured.
When asked whether he would like a bigger squad in future, Liverpool’s head coach surprisingly claimed the reduced workload that followed Liverpool’s last-16 exit to Paris Saint-Germain in March helped his team win a 20th league championship. Liverpool were 15 points clear and had nine league games remaining when they lost on penalties to the eventual Champions League winners.
“This is not going to be a popular opinion but maybe the reason we won the league last season is that we had to play Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16, because they beat us and we had every time a [full] week to prepare for our next game,” said Slot, who expects Andy Robertson to remain at Liverpool for the rest of the season. “Maybe that helped us. Every manager is aware that the bigger squad you have, the better equipped you are for so many games.”
Liverpool have lost four away games in the Premier League this season after playing in the Champions League in midweek, supporting Slot’s contention that injuries have taken a toll on his resources. His team were again poor defensively and wasteful against Bournemouth, and the coach admits improvement is essential to rescue this campaign. “It’s impossible to shut down the noise at a club like this if you are not competing for the league,” Slot said.
“For me it’s so simple. In between the boxes we are a very good team. If we have chances then be clinical and finish it off, that is something we have to improve. And in the other box other teams arrive there three or four times a game, but too many times it leads to a chance and sometimes a goal. That’s a very bad cocktail we are having.
“If we improve in both boxes, I think we are able to win something this season. If we only improve in one box, it is going to be really difficult to win something this season. And if we can’t improve in both boxes, there is going to be a lot of noise throughout the whole season.”
