ReactionPress conference: Arne Slot on Leicester win, Trent Alexander-Arnold and getting closer to the Premier League title
Read every word from Arne Slot's post-match press conference after Liverpool moved another step closer to the Premier League title by beating Leicester City 1-0 at King Power Stadium.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, on his return from injury, lashed home a 76th-minute winner soon after coming off the bench to seal an away victory that also confirms Leicester’s relegation to the Championship.
Slot’s team, who sit 13 points above second-placed Arsenal, now require a maximum of three points from their five remaining matches of the season to be certain of becoming champions.
However, they will officially win the league before their next game – at home to Tottenham Hotspur next Sunday – if Crystal Palace beat Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.
Read Slot’s post-Leicester press conference in full below.
On the impact made by Alexander-Arnold after coming on as a substitute...
I don’t think I deserve any credit for that because if you have Trent on the bench, knowing that Conor [Bradley] probably can’t play 90, I think every manager in the world would have brought Trent in. There are no credits for me over there, but definitely for Trent because he has worked so hard for five-and-a-half weeks – including the medical staff that worked so hard with him to get him back in the squad as soon as he could. That’s why we could use him today for [20] minutes, but I had to use him for 27 because of seven minutes of added time.
On how much the moment meant to Alexander-Arnold...
I don’t think it only meant a lot for him, I think it meant a lot for everyone – for everyone who loves Liverpool. It is a big moment and big players like to have big moments in their career. Virgil [van Dijk] had one last week in a special moment; Mo [Salah] has had them many times this season already. Players with the quality of Trent, you know – you know – these players step up when you most need it. He did that when he came in against Newcastle [United], he did that in his second-half performance against Paris Saint-Germain, where I was just waiting for him to score a goal until the moment he had to go out with an injury. Now he is back and he has had his moment. All nice, but still one to go.
On Liverpool’s dominance in the game...
I think we did. We dominated definitely, which is also what you can expect if you go to Leicester. But I think you also have to give credit to Ruud van Nistelrooy, who just keeps trying to play in the best possible way and I saw a few very good moments from them also today. It is not a team that kicks every ball long, they try to play, they try to create. You can expect that we are the team that creates most chances and it is the first time since I am here that we have missed so many big chances because normally we are better in scoring one of them.
Today, it was not a big chance that we scored – it was again a set-piece. Another big moment for us to score from a set-piece with us putting so much effort in for nine or 10 months now. It feels really good that in the moment we needed it most, although we needed it against Paris Saint-Germain as well when we headed it on the post from Jarell [Quansah]. Now, two big moments for us to score from a set-piece.
On the role of the fans in taking Liverpool to the brink of the title...
They definitely were [sensational]. The only thing the fans want is us winning the league. After one league title in 35 years with them not being involved because of COVID. They were involved, but not as much as they probably wanted. Every moment that it happens, it would be special for them. [I am] definitely looking forward to next week because I assume that Arsenal, because they are such a good team, are able to win during the week. We probably have to do it ourselves and the first chance we have is next week against Tottenham.
On Liverpool’s strategy in terms of trying to score from corners…
To be fair, the idea and the plan was to have inswingers already in the first half, but there is a bit of freedom also for players to take an outswinger if they think that’s better or that they prefer that. The work that we put in is that we’ve trained a lot, we’ve had a lot of meetings about it, we try every single time to improve the details and I think it’s normal for a coaching staff that’s only for nine or 10 months with that team that it doesn’t come from the first week.
I always say that if I am analysing an opponent, if they have their set-pieces perfect I know the manager is already there for a long time because normally you start with bringing the ball out from the back and how to defend and all these kind of things, and the end of that process is set-pieces. And I think Arsenal are a great example of that, where Mikel [Arteta] has worked so long and they are so good in all different phases of the game and now they have become world-class at set-pieces.
On whether the way the Reds pressed changed after half-time…
I don’t think we had to press that much because the goalkeeper mostly kicked the ball long, but the way we press, we want it that the one who is closest to the ball needs to press – and especially if we need a goal. That could sometimes mean it is 4-2-4 and sometimes it is the winger and full-back jumps. It’s just getting rhythm into the game because it’s quite difficult for us to get rhythm and momentum into the game because most teams we are facing, every time there is a throw-in they are taking one-and-a-half minutes to take it. So, the only thing we can do about it is keep the ball longer and there is where I think we can and have to improve. But it is also nice that there are a lot of things to improve if we are 13 points clear at the moment.
On whether he will need to ‘keep the players focused’ in the coming week…
I have to wait and see because I haven’t experienced it here yet but what I know from my time with Feyenoord is that of course there is a lot of noise and everybody is very excited, but at our training ground we are just focused on the training sessions we do and trying to prepare in the best possible way for Tottenham, which is a team where all the injuries are coming back and are a team that deserves our full attention. The boys also have one or two days off during this week because we’ve planned that already a long time ago and hopefully they will enjoy some time with their loved ones and be fully focused when we are back together to work towards Tottenham.
On Alexander-Arnold’s future…
The headline should be today the goal he scored and not about his contract. But what I can say is it would be ridiculous if someone argues his commitment for this club because the work-rate he put in to be back today and make such an important goal, and all the work he has done for this club in all these years he is here, no-one – in my opinion – can argue his commitment to this club. But let the headlines be [about] his great goal and not his contract situation.
