Liverpool’s poor run of form continued at the weekend and Arne Slot is ready to change his approach having seen it works during wins against Aston Villa and Real Madrid
Arne Slot has been finding it difficult to end Liverpool’s run of losses (Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Arne Slot admits he’s open to Liverpool having less of the ball in an effort to get back to winning ways – citing its success in wins over Aston Villa and Real Madrid.
The Reds are in the midst of a dire run of form, with their most recent outing seeing them lose 3-0 at Anfield to Nottingham Forest. They’ve lost eight of their last 11, going down to the likes of both Manchester clubs, Galatasaray, Brentford and Crystal Palace on two occasions.
During their poor run they were able to secure some respite with successive wins within the space of days – one against Villa and then against Real. During those games Liverpool had less possession than their opponents.
In other outings the Reds have been the dominant team with the ball but struggled to make use of it and Slot appeared open to surrendering more of the ball as he seeks to find a winning formula.
He said: “It’s not like we are defending for 90 minutes, it’s only for a few minutes. Not often I’ve coached a team who has had the ball for so long, only have to defend once and then concede.
READ MORE: Liverpool sent mixed Alexander Isak messages as Hugo Ekitike told he ‘should be fuming’READ MORE: Florian Wirtz misses Liverpool training as Arne Slot without trio ahead of PSV clash
“Maybe the answer is having less ball possession. We did against Real Madrid and Villa and we won both games. In moments, we have to defend better. At times against City, we lacked intensity in some of our duels.”
Liverpool have already lost six times in the Premier League and seen their Carabao Cup hopes ended. They are on course to post one of the worst title defences in Premier League history, which comes after a summer of record-breaking spending that saw the likes of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz both arrive – although they have underwhelmed thus far.
Liverpool picked up a rare win recently when they saw off Real Madrid
Slot became a champion in his debut year, a feat achieved only by the likes of Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti, but he’s finding things far more challenging in year two. The Dutchman has no plans to live off of last year’s exploits as he underlined his ambition.
“It has nothing to do with a situation like this,” he said. “Every day, you have to prove yourself at this level. You can’t say I won a league or anything like that. You have to win the next game, for me and the players. That’s the environment I like to work in. I don’t know if I need to prove myself to the fans as well as I have to prove myself to myself.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.