Arne Slot admits where Liverpool can really ‘improve’ ahead of Bournemouth clash
Arne Slot and Liverpool are preparing to begin their title defence against Bournemouth on Friday night.
Liverpool are set to welcome Andoni Iraola’s side to Anfield on 15 August with the hope of kick-starting the campaign with three points.
It is fair to say that the season began frustratingly with a penalty shootout defeat against Crystal Palace in the Community Shield at Wembley.
As a result, there is clear room to grow and build into the new year, something that Slot hasn’t been shy about discussing in public.
Slot picks out clear Liverpool weakness
After Liverpool won the Premier League last season, it is fair to say that the L4 club will have a target on their back moving forward.
With that in mind, the football on the pitch has to evolve and move away from potentially predictable methods under the Dutch head coach.
This wasn’t done successfully against Crystal Palace as Oliver Glasner’s side were frequently able to create chances and cause problems for Liverpool.
- Crystal Palace created 0.97 xG more than Liverpool
- The Eagles created four big chances, but missed two
- Palace won more corners, creating plenty of problems for Slot’s men
Ismaila Sarr’s equaliser at Wembley was an example of this, something which afforded the Eagles a chance to secure the trophy in the shootout.
It appears that Slot is more than aware of these sorts of issues and has picked out an area to improve in his pre-match press conference (14 August).
He said: “We’re as ready as we can be. We have lost three or four starters and Ryan Gravenberch can’t play this week, so if you exclude the keeper, five of 10 outfield positions are different.
“Quality on the ball, I am happy, but eight out of 10 times off the ball is good, but the aim at this club is 10 out of 10 times. So still fine-tuning. Against Bilbao, I was pleased with the defensive performance; no chances in open play, but we conceded two set pieces.
“Against Palace, the main chances we conceded were when we lost the ball ourselves. Still to improve, which is normal, let alone if we have not lost a few starters.
“We have brought in four new ones, so it is normal to have some adaptation, but we are definitely ready.”
Liverpool can’t continue bad habits vs Bournemouth
At the end of the day, it isn’t the end of the world to lose against Palace in what was essentially a pre-season friendly to open the campaign.
That can be used as an excuse for the Wembley defeat, but a loss on opening day against Iraola’s men would open another can of worms.
This would especially be the case if the Cherries were to score goals on transition or from set-pieces despite the height of Virgil van Dijk and Co.
It will certainly be interesting to see if Slot’s words have an impact on his side’s performance, especially as he continues on without Gravenberch in his midfield lineup.
Sign up for the Liverpool News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking Liverpool news sent straight to your phone.