Arne Slot insists that his Liverpool side must improve their game management ahead of the visit of Leeds on New Year’s Day.
In their past two games against Tottenham and Wolves, Liverpool have taken a two-goal lead then conceded, but managed to hold on to the three points.
“It tells you how important goals are in a low-scoring sport because that’s what football is,” Slot said. “A goal can change momentum. That’s what we saw against Tottenham and Wolves.
“In both games, until the moment we conceded, it was a performance you would like from a Liverpool team. Ideally, we would create more chances. But goals have a massive impact on the momentum of a game and that’s what’s been shown in the last two games of ours.”
While recent games have swung in momentum, the Liverpool boss did stress how “special” it is to see his team unbeaten in seven matches across all competitions, despite a growing injury list.
“One way to have game management is the ability to make extra substitutions,” he said. “Last year when we were one goal up, a lot of times I brought Wataru Endo in. I don’t know know if anyone notices it but we are missing quite a lot of players. That’s why it’s so special that the players who are fit are bringing in these results.
“If you look at our bench, there’s no midfielder that has played more than 10 minutes in the Premier League so far – so that’s why I’m so pleased with current results. Because we don’t drop points, nobody talks about the players we’ve missed.”
Liverpool host Leeds less than a month after they went to Elland Road and drew 3-3 with Daniel Farke’s side. Slot’s side were two goals up before Leeds scored twice in three minutes and even though Liverpool went ahead again late on, Leeds equalised in injury time through Ao Tanaka.
Before the rematch at Anfield, Slot conceded his players found it difficult to adapt when Farke switched Leeds’ formation.
“What I mainly took from it was that we struggled much more when they went to a four and played 4-3-3 in the last 20 minutes of the game,” said Slot.
“That’s also when they scored their goals. We struggled more when they played with four than when they played with five so I will definitely look at both but especially the moment when they went to four at the back.”
