Slot Talk: “We Thought Let’s Bring On All the Players That Can Score”
Liverpool manager Arne Slot spoke about his approach to going behind and down to ten men against Fulham—and his pride in his team’s performance in a 2-2 draw.
Following highly impressive back-to-back 2-0 victories over Real Madrid and Manchester City in the Champions League and Premier League respectively, Liverpool’s performances took a dip in subsequent matches against Newcastle and Girona.
That the Reds managed a draw and win from those two games couldn’t entirely cover up the fact that manager Arne Slot was less than thrilled by the performance levels, and if one were to just look at the scoreline it might be assumed a 2-2 draw with Fulham was a case of more of the same.
In the end, though, while Slot might not be happy with every aspect of Saturday’s league draw with London’s Cottagers, the manager went out of his way to praise his players for how they reacted in a game where they went down to ten men early.
“I think it is exactly the opposite from the Girona game,” the manager noted. “There I was pleased with the result but not the performance, only the result. Now I am very, very, happy about the performance. I couldn’t have asked for more, but of course I am not happy with the result.
“If you drop points in a home game with Fulham that is not what you want, but being two times a goal down and to have so many things that go against you, our players and our fans were outstanding today. I think what the team showed today is character.”
Liverpool’s opponents Fulham got away with a pair of studs up tackles in the first half of Saturday’s match, both of which on another day could easily have been reds but on this particular day were only penalized as yellows. And one of which did damage to left back Andy Robertson’s knee.
Robertson was subsequently slow to react in a tackle leading to a last man red card for the Liverpool defender that meant they were down a goal and a man from the early stages of the first half. Despite that, they showed commendable energy and fightback.
“We just thought let’s bring on all the players that can score,” Slot said of the approach after going behind and down to ten. “To see them work so hard without the ball, five or six players who were mainly offensive to keep the other team away from goal and still create chances, was great to see.”
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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