Arne Slott believes “so many decisions went against the club” this season and was not surprised that Liverpool’s penalty against Paris Saint-Germain was overturned.
Liverpool lost 4-0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, losing 2-0 to PSG at Anfield, and were kicked out of the Champions League.
Liverpool put in a spirited performance, unsettling the European champions until Ousmane Dembele conceded two late penalties. There were good moments for the Reds. There was controversy, especially when Alexis Mac Allister thought he had won a penalty at 0-0, but the penalty was canceled by the referee after a VAR review.
Tim Sherwood, who was watching the game on Soccer Special, said: “It was a soft penalty, but in my opinion it was a penalty.”
PSG players oppose decision to award penalty to Liverpool
“I’m not surprised because so many decisions went against us this season,” Slott told Amazon Prime.
“It’s very simple. VAR would never have overturned the penalty if the referee hadn’t given it, but I’ve seen a lot of soft penalties being given and they say VAR can’t intervene because there was contact and that’s what we’re clearly aware of.”
Liverpool defender Ibrahima Conte said: “For me it was a clear penalty. I was behind the referee. If I had won the penalty and scored, it would have been completely different.”
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Sky Sports News’ Vinny O’Connor said he was surprised that the penalty award was overturned, given the contact involved.
“Me too,” Slott replied. “But that’s not the case with us, because the same thing has happened to us many times this season.
“I think it was Rodri or Bernardo Silva, and they[Manchester City]said that they’ve been very unlucky with refereeing this season. I heard them say this a month ago, something like that.”
“If you can say so, then remember both of the games you played against us. Remember how many decisions went against us after that. So what does this tell you about us?”
Slots: The future looks good
Despite signing the likes of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirths in the summer, Liverpool were unable to build on last year’s Premier League-winning season under Slott.
Slott is under pressure to keep his job due to the team’s poor performance, but he still has the task of securing a top-five finish in the Premier League in order to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
“It’s often said that the club is in a period of transition. The club sold eight to 10 players to raise money to sign five or so very talented players,” Slott said.
“We have to sell to buy. We have lost some players on free transfers, Mo Salah and Andy Robertson.
“The summer is a big challenge, but the club has shown that this model can work. As I have said many times, if we can sign players, especially after the departure of good players this summer, the future will be very good.”
