Arne Slot admits Liverpool were slow and predictable in Wolves defeat
Liverpool manager Arne Slot has backed Virgil van Dijk’s assessment that the team were “slow and predictable” following their damaging 2-1 Premier League defeat by Wolves.
Andre struck a deflected stoppage-time winner at Molineux to inflict a record-breaking fifth late loss of the season on the title holders.
Captain Van Dijk branded the performance “sloppy” in his post-match interview, a verdict his head coach found hard to dispute.
Slot concerns over late collapse
“So ‘slow’ or ‘predictable’ are words that I can understand [Van Dijk] uses,” Slot admitted.
“The second half was better; still not great, but better. We created more and in added time I think we were twice very close from chances to score.”
Rodrigo Gomes had given the hosts a late lead before Mohamed Salah equalised with his first league goal since November.
However, the Reds were undone in added time yet again, a recurring theme that has seen them drop nine points after the 90th minute this campaign.
Away struggles continue
Sluggish starts on the road have plagued the Merseyside club, who have netted just three of their 22 away goals before the interval.
The Dutchman expressed frustration at how often his side has conceded decisive goals in the dying moments of matches.
“Those are chances and the one we concede is not even a chance, and that is what has happened so many times to us this season,” Slot added.
“That it happens in added time might be a coincidence maybe, although it happened so many times, but we hardly gave away a chance today.”
Immediate chance for revenge
Slot’s side make an immediate return to Molineux on Friday night for an FA Cup tie, just 72 hours after this humbling result.
Van Dijk insists the squad must process the disappointment quickly as the fixture list intensifies.
“Conceding goals is always frustrating. We’ve come on the back of a couple of clean sheets, defensively we’ve been very solid but it is what it is,” the centre-back said.
“We have to move quickly on because we come back here in a couple of days and we want to do well in the FA Cup.”
