Arne Slot is enthusiastic about the start of the new Premier League season and ready for the challenge of Liverpool who defends their title.
The Reds, champions in 2024-25, start with the next top campaign by hosting AFC Bournemouth on Anfield on Friday evening.
Prior to the collision with the cherries, head coach Slot spoke with the media during a press conference this morning and discussed a series of topics.
Read a summary of his briefing below …
About how ready he feels Liverpool is to start the Premier League season …
As ready as we can be. I think I emphasized last week, the fact that we lost three or four starters and unfortunately Ryan Gravenberch could not play last week and not play this week. So that means that if you exclude the goalkeeper from the 10 Outfield positions, there were five different from the most important starters we had last season. If you then look at the quality that we bring on the ball, I am very happy with that. Without the ball it is eight out of 10 times also very good – but the goal of this club is not eight out of 10 times, it is 10 out of 10 times. And that is the refinement that we still have to find defensive.
That one time in the preseason went better than the other. In return for [Athletic Club] Bilbao I was really very, really satisfied with our defensive performance because we have not given any chance that I think of open game at all. But we have admitted [from] Two sets. In return for [Crystal] Palace The most important opportunities we admitted were when we lost the balls themselves.
So it has been ups and downs where the downs were not that low, but I think there is still most of us to improve. Which is normal. I think it is normal for everyone in the preseason that there is still room for improvement, let alone that if we not only lost three or four starters, I think we have lost five to six players who played quite a few minutes for us last season and we took four new ones, so then it is normal that there is a little adjustment. But we are absolutely ready for the competition to start.
About his expectations for the season …
The reason why that is so difficult [to retain the title] Lies mainly in the fact that there are so many competitors who can also win the competition here. To win it once is already very special, let alone if you can win twice in three, four or five years, or as we did, twice in five years and [Manchester] City did even better than we do in recent years. So that's incredible if you can do this in this competition. And probably this year is getting harder than every year, because every team entails new players, but our most important competitors have certainly done that.
About what he expects from Bournemouth on Friday …
[They are] intense. They made it really difficult for us last season. We beat them 3-0, where you feel “What is he talking about, difficult?” But if you look at the game, they had the first big chance of the game, they scored a goal that was fractional offside. Then we would be three times, I would not compete against each other, but we were very quickly moving the ball from behind. And suddenly we were 3-0 up during the break, and then I thought what I always thought when I was a manager in Holland-this will be four, five or six-zero '.
But the mentality that Bournemouth showed in the second half, they just kept going. That is the mentality that they also had the entire season afterwards. They also lost some players, they also brought in good new ones – as they have shown in recent years, that they can always bring in good new players. And away, it was even more difficult for us. So, very good team, good manager and a challenge for us on Friday. But I look forward to it because an evening game in Anfield is something that everyone is looking forward to.
About improving the defensive firmness of Liverpool after the preseason …
Don't forget that we missed it [Alexis] Mac Allister also in the last part of last season and he was hardly able to play in our preseason, only now he recently played a few games, played a few minutes. But it's not that I'm not happy with certain parts, I was [saying] A while since the standard here is 10 out of 10. So they are not or two things that we don't do well, no. In general we all do well, but good enough it is not good enough and we have to go one step further in certain aspects. Not in all aspects, in certain aspects.
And then there is such a thing as against Bilbao, we were really good defensive, but gave two set pieces. And the games earlier we also had mixed teams, so then you can also accept a little better that maybe timings between players were not as good as when you play the starters who played so often together. So there are reasons for it. Like I just said, mixed teams; New players who come in, Virgil [van Dijk] Being sick against Bilbao, Alisson [Becker] Because it is not there, Macca is injured, Ryan cannot play and new players brought in. But all this is absolutely no excuse when we start the competition on Friday because we are 100 percent ready on Friday.
On the profile of Jeremie Frimpong as right back and how he could join Mohamed Salah …
In my opinion, Jeremia and Conor Bradley are comparable types, although Jeremie might be better in the one-V-One-Oon's than Conor. But I think Jeremie and Conor can both contribute to Mo's output, because if you play against these two, you know that you must also be aware of these two. So it normally gives Mo even more room to get the one-V-one. Because if we insulate Jeremie in one-V-one, it is difficult for the other team and if we insulate Mo in a one-V-one, it is also difficult for the other team.
Where might be last season [the opposition] Can give a little more help because Trent [Alexander-Arnold] Was a little more behind the ball, which was also dangerous, because when Mo brought it back, Trent could yield one of his famous crosses. So they are different species, but I think that both types – and trent it together with Mo, Trent has brought the best out of Mo – we think, I think, the same will happen with Conor and Jeremia with Mo in that respect.
About Dominik Szoboszlai that is used in a deeper role …
I think he can play both roles very well and he has his quality in both roles, and things that he can improve in both roles. What is striking with Dominik is the way he can print. I don't think there are many midfielders in the world that you can find that are better in the intensity with which he can print. But if he's [playing] At 10 I think the improvement he can make, playing between the lines, finding the balls there and not getting the end product in goals, but more the ball. And if he plays behind the ball, I think that's not new to him, but he didn't play much there last season, so sometimes you have to adapt to your teammates and in your positioning. I think he had a really good preseason. He didn't play his best match against Palace, but otherwise he had a very good preseason.