Liverpool manager Arne Slot watched his team suffer their first Premier League defeat of the season, falling to a dramatic late loss against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The Reds faced a difficult challenge throughout the match in south London. After battling back to level the score late on, they were denied a point when Eddie Nketiah struck in the 97th minute to secure the win for Palace.
Speaking to BBC Match of the Day, a candid and subdued Slot admitted:
> “Palace deserved the win. They were far better than us in the first half and could easily have been 3-0 or 4-0 up. We have to thank Alisson for keeping it at 1-0. On the positive side, we created plenty of chances against a team that rarely gives many away. But on the negative side, we allowed them far too many opportunities from the limited possession they had.”
Arne Slot’s Reaction
On the result and performance:
“It was a very tough first half. Palace played really well and fully deserved to lead 1-0. Honestly, we were fortunate it wasn’t more. The second half was the opposite — we created enough chances to score, but it took a long time to get one. When we finally did, there were only a few minutes left. At that point, you expect a draw, but from their second set piece, they won the game.”
On conceding both goals from set pieces:
“If you want to compete at the top level, you must have a strong record on set pieces. Last season, that was one of our biggest strengths — we hardly conceded any. Now, we’ve given away two against Newcastle and another two today, which is a concern.
This league is increasingly decided by set pieces. We had to defend many today, and small details make the difference. In the last minute, one of our players pushed forward looking to counterattack, but the ball broke for a Palace player instead, and they scored.”
On Alisson keeping Liverpool in the game during the first half:
“Palace’s game plan suits their squad perfectly. They sit deep, defend compactly, and use their pace and physicality on the counter. With Mateta as a target man and fast runners around him, they’re very dangerous.
When we tried to press, they kept playing balls in behind, and we really struggled to deal with it. They created four or five big chances in the first half — far too many. We had possession, moved the ball around, but breaking down their low block was very difficult, especially once they went 1-0 up.”
On creating clear-cut chances:
“In the second half, yes, we created better opportunities. Alex [Isak] had a big chance and did well to stay on his feet. Jeremie Frimpong also could have gone down when he was tripped in the box, but he tried to play on.
Florian Wirtz also had a huge opportunity from a brilliant cross by Dominik Szoboszlai. Our performance after halftime improved significantly — though, to be fair, it wasn’t hard to improve on the first half.”
On conceding in stoppage time:
“It’s always disappointing to concede so late, but I don’t think there’s an issue with the timing. There was a substitution during added time, so an extra 30 seconds was fair. I’ll check exactly when the goal was scored, but that’s not the main point. The real issue is how we defended that throw-in — it wasn’t good enough.”
On bouncing back after losing their perfect record:
“We’ve learned a lot from every match so far, even the ones we won. It’s not like we’ve been flawless in our performances up to now.
One thing we’ve shown is our fight — we always battle to get back into games. We did that again today, but this time it didn’t translate into points because Palace managed to score the decisive goal.”
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