Watch Arne Slott’s post-match press conference after Liverpool’s Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain and see how the Dutchman’s reasons for the Reds’ struggles this season stack up…
missed chance
Arne Slott has lamented Liverpool’s lack of clinical edge in the final third all season and it was no surprise that it was on his agenda after the game after they failed to find the back of the net at Anfield despite posting an expected goals (xG) of 1.92 against the European champions.
“Unfortunately, this is one of the many examples this season where we didn’t score from a lot of chances,” he said. “Again, we’ve been underperforming in terms of xG so far, and that’s something that’s continued with us throughout the season.”
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Vinnie O’Connor reports from Anfield after Liverpool lost 2-0 (4-0 on aggregate) to PSG, ending their Champions League campaign.
That is certainly the case in the Champions League. Liverpool entered Tuesday’s game with 24 goals from 27.8xG, the biggest underperformance of the quarter-finalists.
However, the xG conversion rate situation in the Premier League is not that dire. In fact, Liverpool’s total goals scored is just 0.65 points less than their xG total. This differs slightly from teams such as Arsenal (+7) and Man City (+5.45), but there are nine teams with worse margins than Liverpool.
But perhaps what sticks with Slott is the huge missed opportunity. With two games against PSG, only Aston Villa have a worse conversion rate for big chances as determined by Opta in the Premier League this season.
Liverpool have missed 59 of their 86 clear chances in the top flight.
Curtis Jones, Florian Wertz and Alexis Mac Allister rank among the worst underperforming Liverpool players for their individual xG totals.
However, Mohamed Salah missed 11 of his 14 big chances and Virgil van Dijk converted just one of his eight clear chances, making him clearly more expensive in the league.
injury
Of course, Alexander Isak arrived from Newcastle for £125m and was set to score big goals for Liverpool this season. However, the Swede has been plagued by injuries throughout the season, including being sidelined with a broken foot in December. Tuesday was his first game back after recovering from that.
The plan at the start of the season was for Isak, along with fellow summer signings Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike, to form a new attacking line-up worth £320m. However, Ekitike’s worrying injury against PSG forced Liverpool into yet another frustrating night, with Slott pointing out how he did not have enough opportunities to use the three big names together.
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Liverpool manager Arne Slott has provided an update on the injury sustained by Hugo Ekitike, who was carried off on a stretcher during the Champions League game against PSG.
“For 88 minutes (until Tuesday) we have played with Florian (Wurtz), Alex and Hugo. (Tuesday) we added about 27 minutes to this. I would be surprised if we add more minutes to this this season,” he said.
Regarding Ekitike’s injury, he added: “It’s tough to lose a game, but to lose a player again is something we’ve had many times this season.”
First-choice keeper Alisson also missed the game with a hamstring problem, Conor Bradley has undergone knee surgery and Giovanni Leoni’s anterior cruciate ligament injury has strained depth at centre-back, with Jeremy Frimpong, Wataru Endo and Joe Gomez also facing important absences.
match official
Another persistent complaint of Slott this season was the frequency with which decisions by officials went against his side.
There was a controversial decision on Tuesday when a penalty awarded to Mac Allister was overturned by VAR.
Liverpool were initially awarded a penalty for Pacho’s challenge on Mac Allister
Slott said: “…there was another VAR intervention that went against us, and it’s not the first time this season.”
He also mentioned Brentford’s penalty, which was awarded after a VAR check when Van Dijk caught Dango Ouattara, and Leeds’ penalty, which was awarded after the referee was sent to monitor by VAR when Konate fouled Wilfried Gnont.
PSG players oppose decision to award penalty to Liverpool
Asked about his reaction to the penalty award against PSG being overturned, he said: “If you look at this season, there have been so many decisions against us this season, so I’m not surprised.”
Slott pointed out that Liverpool had several chances in the first leg in Paris, with Konate’s challenge on Warren Zair-Emery resulting in a penalty for PSG being called off, and the defender subsequently avoiding punishment when he pushed Nuno Mendes in the box.
But Slott once again made his dissatisfaction with those involved clear this season after Van Dijk’s header against Man City was controversially ruled out for offside and Man United scored when Mac Allister went down with a head injury.
bright future
Despite Liverpool’s improved performance in the second leg, they were eliminated from the Champions League by PSG, leaving them without a trophy after winning the Premier League title last season.
The pressure is therefore on Slott to finish within the top five in the league in order to secure a place in next season’s Champions League. “Arne Slott needs to qualify for the Champions League to keep his job,” said Sky Sports pundit Tim Sherwood.
However, the Dutchman remained optimistic throughout the season that Liverpool would step up again next year and in the years to come, given the quality of young players they have brought in.
“The future of this team is very bright, because we showed in this stadium that we can compete against the European champions and be a dominant team,” he said again on Tuesday.
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Teenager Rio Ngmoha scored his first goal at Anfield in Liverpool’s Premier League match against Fulham.
Ryan Gravenbirch (23), Ekitike (23), Wirtz (22), Bradley (22) and Milos Kerkes (22) are all having their best years, while 17-year-old Rio Ngmoja has plenty of potential.
However, Slott and Liverpool need to get results in the final six games of this Premier League campaign to capitalize on their potential as a Champions League club next season.
