Injuries, congestion and confidence: Slot outlines Liverpool’s slide

Arne Slot declined to accidental whether Liverpool person opened negotiations connected a caller deal, insisting his vigor is aimed astatine snapping a damaging run. “This is the past question that I was expecting. My absorption is wholly connected getting Liverpool backmost to winning ways,” helium said, adding: “Contract talks, if they are adjacent there, we ne'er talk astir this here. Let america archetypal commencement to triumph again, that is my main focus.” The Dutchman signed a three-year declaration successful 2024 amid expectations of an hold aft past season’s title. The discourse is present harsher: six defeats successful 7 crossed each competitions and 4 consecutive successful the league, capped by a 3–0 Carabao Cup exit to Crystal Palace.

Depth statement gives mode to availability reality

Slot’s post-cup remark astir not having a heavy squad drew scrutiny fixed a summertime outlay exceeding £400 million. He sought to reframe the issue. “We miss nothing,” helium said. “I americium wholly blessed with the squad and with each the prime that we person and I americium besides wholly convinced by the strategy and the argumentation that we person but that makes the contented — if you telephone it an contented — is not each of them person had a due pre-season oregon person been injured … but nary excuses for our results earlier radical accidental this.” He highlighted the schedule: “We person had to play a batch of distant games with lone 2 days remainder in-between … It is thing to bash with the squad depth, it is however we’ve gone passim the play successful presumption of injuries and availability.”

Team quality and a constrictive model for a reset

There is mixed quality earlier Aston Villa’s visit. Ryan Gravenberch has trained and faces a precocious telephone aft an ankle problem. Alexander Isak and Curtis Jones are “99.9% definite not successful the squad connected Saturday,” Slot said. He reiterated that results, not contracts, specify the week ahead. “Let america archetypal commencement to triumph again,” helium repeated, underlining a elemental precedence aft a brutal spell. For a broadside that expected to footwear on, the contiguous task is clear: stabilise performances, trim errors, and person sustained unit into goals.