Liverpool have been deemed “comfortable” to play against in recent weeks, but Inter manager Cristian Chivu offered a rare verdict on the intensity of Arne Slot‘s side.
After the 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest, Morgan Gibbs-White delivered a damning verdict by saying his side “felt comfortable” and “defensively secure,” even when they didn’t have the ball.
Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris then told reporters he did not expect the “time and space” his side enjoyed at Anfield, admitting “surprise” at how little Liverpool pressed.
It has been a stick to beat Slot’s side with this season, rightly so, as their intensity has dropped off a cliff, and that is why Chivu’s verdict is an outlier so far this season.
After the defeat, which he felt would have been fair as a draw, Chivu told reporters, via translation: “We had some issues in the early minutes because we struggled with their pressing and the way they keep the ball.
“Then we figured out how to beat their press, and I think in the last 20 minutes of the first half we did have some chances.
“It’s never easy to come up against a physical side like Liverpool, who play with so much intensity.
“In the second half we thought we would kick on with that positivity, but then we started to fade in terms of our energy levels. We could no longer make any substitutions because we had one slot available.”
It makes for a positive change that the opposition manager credited the intensity with which Liverpool played, but the challenge for Slot is to see that on a consistent basis.
The visit of Brighton on Saturday will signal the end of a run of seven games in 22 days, before the Reds then play three in 19 days, which includes two six-day breaks between games.
Arne Slot commends Liverpool’s “commitment”
Deploying a diamond midfield behind a front two of Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak, Slot sought to praise the “commitment to the game plan” from his players after the 1-0 win.
“I don’t think I would do justice to only tell you that our midfield worked so hard,” he said in his post-match press conference.
“I think I saw all of the players showing a lot of commitment to the game plan.
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“In the first half we tried to keep a plus one in and around our last line, but after the substitutions they made we struggled more and more with [Manuel] Akanji in the middle, who dribbled into the midfield.
“So, we said during half-time, we have to be more aggressive in our press, we’re going to go more one-v-one.
“Then, of course, it is important your midfield sprints back if they play over you, but it was the same for our attackers.”