Slot Unimpressed Despite Liverpool’s Win Over Girona

Girona, Spain – Liverpool secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Girona in their Champions League clash Tuesday, extending their winning streak to six games.

Sala with Virgy

However, Reds manager, Arne Slot expressed significant dissatisfaction with his team’s performance despite the positive result.

Mohamed Salah’s 63rd-minute penalty proved decisive at Estadi Montilivi.

Slot highlighted a lack of intensity as a major flaw in Liverpool’s game. “If you play against a team with a good footballing idea, like City or Real Madrid, you need to be intense,” he stated in his post-match press conference.

He criticised the team’s pressing, saying they were “too easily outplayed” and lacked the aggression needed to disrupt Girona’s build-up play.

He felt Girona deserved more from the match, crediting their performance and highlighting Liverpool’s reliance on goalkeeper Alisson Becker’s crucial first-half saves.

“Every time we lost the ball, they could almost always go all the way to our goal,” Slot explained, emphasising a lack of control and aggressive recovery.

He conceded that the second half showed slight improvement, but the overall performance fell far short of his expectations.

The manager noted that Girona’s tactics, similar to those employed by Bayer Leverkusen, presented a unique challenge, making it difficult to effectively press.

However, he emphasised that the defensive issues stemmed from a lack of aggression off the ball, rather than solely tactical deficiencies.

While acknowledging Darwin Núñez’s missed chances, Slot remained confident in his striker’s ability, highlighting the team’s overall scoring depth with Salah’s penalty.

He attributed Núñez’s struggles to a typical striker’s slump rather than a deeper issue.

The return of Alisson Becker after a two-month injury layoff was a bright spot. Slot was full of praise for the Brazilian goalkeeper, jokingly suggesting his teammates might have tested his fitness intentionally, given the volume of saves required.

“He showed again why he’s our first goalkeeper,” Slot declared, adding, “He’s probably one of the best, in my opinion, the best goalkeeper in the world.”

However, the manager’s overall tone remained one of disappointment despite the victory, indicating a need for significant improvement in future matches.