‘Negative and disappointing’ – Slot says heavy Liverpool defeat is ‘hard to take’
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“It is not the first time we have dropped points,” Slot told Sky Sports. “It is not the first time we have conceded a goal in the last minute, we have conceded a set-piece. I think everyone can understand what the mood was in the dressing room.
“I do not think we conceded any chances until we were 2-0 up. The penalty was not a chance but we made it a chance because it led to a penalty, with a VAR intervention one more time.
“So 2-1, then maybe their first chance of the game led to 2-2. We showed mentality to go 3-2 up. I think after that we had control. Of course, there is always the long ball, second ball, which you can not always make sure it does not happen.
“And then a set-piece comes in nine minutes of added time and they score. That is part of our season. But the ones to blame are us, we concede these chances.”
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Highlights: Liverpool thrashed as PSV hit FOUR at Anfield
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Leeds took full advantage of that fragility by scoring three times in the final quarter at Elland Road.
Szoboszlai said that Liverpool “thought the game was over” when they went 2-0 up.
“We said at the beginning of the game that this was the kind of game where you can never underestimate the team you play against.
“Maybe after the penalty, they just had their momentum to make it 2-2. We came back, so it was a good reaction from the team, but conceding again from a set-piece is not a nice way.
“We have to manage it, we have to find solutions. There are times when you have to look at yourselves, just think and ask yourself if you did everything possible. If the answer is yes, then keep going and the momentum will come.
“Last year we became champions, now I do not even know what position we are. We have to find solutions, we have to show reactions and everybody has to take responsibility.
“Not always the old guys or the guys that have been here longer, everybody. Everybody has to go on the pitch and show they are ready to fight for this badge.”
Slot explains Salah absence
Slot said the decision not to introduce Salah, who started on the bench for a third successive game, was purely a tactical one based on the timing of his substitutions.
Liverpool’s first changes came when they were 2-0 up and he made his other substitutions just after Szoboszlai’s strike, so the Dutchman argued it did not make sense to bring on a goalscorer when Liverpool were winning.
Slot introduced Salah at half-time against Sunderland but brought on Wataru Endo and Alexander Isak at Elland Road with Liverpool winning 3-2.
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Mohamed Salah
Image credit: Getty Images
Asked about Salah’s short and medium-term future at the club too, Slot said: “We have to accept the situation we are in, and I make my choices based on that. And the short-term future of Mo is that he goes in a week’s time to the African Cup of Nations, but before that, we play Inter and Brighton.”
Salah, who signed a new deal in the summer until 2027, will soon depart to play at AFCON with Egypt.
