In the fourth round of the Champions League, Liverpool defeated Real Madrid 1-0. After the game, Liverpool coach Slott attended the press conference.
Performance
Slaughter: "It's impressive because we're playing an unbelievable team who are in unbelievably good form and have only lost once and won every other game. If you can beat them and do it the way we performed, it's very Positive. We beat them because of a set piece. It's more pleasant to talk about it when we win because if we lose, people will say I'm making excuses, but positive set pieces are the minimum you need to get a good result and that's what we had today."
How much the Reds have turned around now. Situation
Sloter: "Well, let's be clear: we've been through a very bad run of form in terms of results. There's no excuse in the world that can make up for the fact that we lost so many games. But we have to play a lot of games in a short period of time, with barely any rest, and we're facing a team with a lot of rest. The team we played tonight also played on Saturday, so we both had two days off. It helps because we've played six of the last eight games on the road and the fans can give you a little bit of an extra edge. This is great. He performed well against Real Madrid last season, but he came off injured after 80 minutes. Now, three days after playing the full 90 minutes against Villa, he played the full 90 minutes against Vinicius with astonishing intensity. I told the players before the game that they scored 26 goals in La Liga, and Mbappe and Vinicius contributed 24 goals together. So if you want to have any chance of winning you should defend your set pieces because that's how teams score, but great individuals can score goals too and these two certainly can. Bradley defended Vinicius very well. "
Atmosphere
Slaughter: "I was impressed by the atmosphere of the fans for the entire 90 minutes, even before the game. The fans helped us throughout the 90 minutes, not just when Trent was on the pitch. "
Whether to talk to Arnold
Sloat: "Just briefly, and then I gave him a hug." I don’t even remember exactly what was said, probably not much. But every time I see him, I either give him a hug or talk to him because he is so special to me as a player and as a person. "
The commonalities in the performances against Real Madrid and Villa
Sloter: "The commonalities, I think the two teams played quite similarly against us. Maybe the difference is that today I told the players that I wanted them to either press high or drop low because Vinicius and Mbappe are incredible players for many reasons, but their deep movement, their timing of their deep movement, their pace is top notch. So don't give up any space behind us and that's what our last line of defense did so well tonight.
"The defensive performance in these two games was very solid. But it also helps not to fall behind, because once you fall behind, you have to take extra risks and press harder. And when you are forced to take more risks, there will inevitably be gaps on the flanks. But in my opinion, even in the games we lost, we He almost didn’t give his opponents any chances, except for those set pieces.”
McAllister missed the pre-season preparations due to injury. Is he returning to his best form?
Sloter: “Yes, and he’s not the only one. I just mentioned Bradley. He played for the first time in a long time. Playing two 90 minutes in three days. The same is true for McCain. All players need time to adapt, sometimes to the rhythm of the Premier League, and sometimes to adapt to the compact schedule. The giants in other leagues can basically win easily after playing 15-20 games, but there is never an easy victory in the Premier League. It is a process that needs to be adapted. Whether it is missing the preseason, transferring from other leagues, or young players, this process is required. Bradley only played for us for thirty or forty minutes, and McCain is accelerating his integration with the team after performing well against Villa and Crystal Palace. This is the first step to win. ."
Keep Mbappe at Anfield for two consecutive seasons
Slote: "I didn't even tell them that Mbappe scored two goals against Marseille in the Champions League. Although he didn't score against Juventus, Vinicius also scored a hat trick against Almaty. You didn't. It may be possible to completely restrict these two, but the details can be done well. But their best chance today is actually the pass from Vinicius to Bellingham. After all, it is difficult to completely block these two top players. Mbappe broke into the dangerous area many times, but we almost did not defend these two. To the extreme."
Wiltz's performance
Sloter: "I have expressed my opinion many times, but I don't care whether others agree with my views. Moving to the Premier League from other leagues requires adapting to games every two days, frequent away games and different tactical styles, which is a challenge for all players. Same, not to mention the 22-year-old. He has worked very hard to adapt, but has been unlucky in Liverpool: today he created too many opportunities for the team, but the goals did not come from his assists or shots
"I don't want to say 'give him time' because he has already adapted. I have sent him on a number of occasions to familiarize himself with the Premier League, but he will not start every game, and this is true for any player who has missed pre-season, is young or comes from another league. After playing Frankfurt, he only has two days of rest before playing against Brentford away. This intensity is completely different from the Bundesliga, Eredivisie and other leagues. The Premier League is the most competitive league in the world, with all 20 teams in it. You will see many top players between the ages of 25 and 30 playing here, and of course there are also teams that use 22-year-old newcomers. "