Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has made a worrying claim about the Premier League title race after his side lost 3-0 to Manchester City.
The Reds could’ve moved up to second with a victory over Pep Guardiola’s team at the Etihad but their loss leaves them eighth in the top-flight table.
Liverpool won the title last season and were the favourites again for many pundits this term, especially after Slot’s side won their opening five games.
But a shocking dip has seen Liverpool win just one of their last six Premier League matches, with the champions now eight points behind leaders Arsenal.
Speaking after the defeat to City, Slot said: ‘The last thing I should speak about is the title race. We have to focus on getting results.
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‘Result after result after result before we can even think about that. The reality is that we are eighth. One team is quite far ahead, although City are now four points away.
‘I said last season, many times, the best way to judge the table is after 38 games. The next best way is to judge it after 19 games. The last thing we should be focusing on is the title race. We have to improve, that’s obvious.’
Metro @ The Match: Wirtz ghosts again
Analysis from Metro‘s Head of Sport James Goldman after Man City’s 3-0 victory over Liverpool…
Watch out Arsenal
Any suggestion that Mikel Arteta’s previously relentless winning machine would sleepwalk their way to the title was always fanciful prior to this weekend. It is pure folly now after a couple of familiar failings reared their head at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, before City laid down an emphatic marker against Liverpool. City have hunted down the Gunners from less promising positions in the past and although the personnel might be different, Arsenal’s failure to go course and distance in the past is likely to haunt them until they finally get over the line. Nothing about City’s recent form suggests they’re going to give them an easy ride.
City’s wing wizards
While they’ve still got to go some to emulate some of their illustrious predecessors, there’s definitely shades of Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling about the current City widemen. Jeremy Doku gave Conor Bradley an infinitesimally more testing time than Vinicius Jnr in midweek and his electric dribbling style now, more frequently than not, culminates in end product. On the opposite flank, Rayan Cherki’s magnetic first touch and inventiveness neatly complimented the qualities of those around him before he was withdrawn early in the second period.
Nico shows why he’s been called up by England
England’s left-back position is certainly up for grabs given the number of options Thomas Tuchel has experimented with over the course of his tenure. Myles Lewis-Skelly’s relative inactivity for Arsenal has handed an opportunity to Nico O’Reilly and it’s one the City youngster looks primed to take. Tasked with taming Mohamed Salah, the 20-year-old hardly gave Liverpool’s talisman an inch and his poise on the ball, a pre-requisite for any City player in Pep Guardiola’s system, helped his side navigate its way out of several tight spots and spring dangerous attacks.
Wirtz ghosts again
Doku’s improvement this season and man of the match display served as a timely remind that it is still way too soon to write off one of Liverpool’s two headline summer signings, but this was another concerning performance. So infrequent was his involvement in the game that it was difficult to determine the role he had been assigned. Either way, he looks ill at ease with the playmaking responsibilities he has presumably been charged with, no matter which combination of midfielders and forwards Arne Slot selects. Lightweight, indecisive and short on confidence, Wirtz and his manager have major issues to solve.
Slot left fuming over Van Dijk’s disallowed goal
When Liverpool were 1-0 down, they thought they had equalised via Virgil van Dijk but the goal was ruled out due to Andy Robertson being offside, with the linesman putting his flag up and VAR checking the incident.
Slot is adamant that the officials made the wrong decision as he told the BBC: ‘I cannot agree with the decision being made on that.
‘For me that is a goal. Immediately after the game people showed me the goal City made away at a Wolves last season.
‘For me, that is a similar one. I was surprised because the first thing you do when you score you look at the linesman – it took 14 seconds before he raised his flag.
‘For me, the wrong decision was given on the pitch and then it was also given in the review.
‘That’s not to say it would have impacted the result because City were much better.’
Slot: We struggled with Doku
‘We had a very hard time bringing the ball out from the back and it was difficult to hold on to the ball,’ Slot added.
‘We struggled with Doku on the inside and O’Reilly wide. Then, of course, a referee decision could have influenced a more positive half-time feeling for us.
‘[Being] 2-0 down at half-time makes it very difficult to get a result here.’
from: elfutbolero.us