Last season, Liverpool under Arne Slot were almost unbeatable in the Premier League. This summer, the club has paid over 300 million euros for reinforcements. After completing the preseason and the Community Shield final, Slot realizes that the season starts with sand in the machinery.
Of course, the Dutchman has sky-high expectations for what will be delivered by a reigning Premier League champion the week before the start of the season, but Slot has also realized that the league is not necessarily decided at the end of the season, it has to start with victories in the extreme competition with a handful of clubs that can all take the title. On Sunday, the Crystal Palace players and Oliver Glasner sent Liverpool off Wembley without their first title of the season.
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Hugo Ekitike needed four poor minutes before he scored Liverpool’s first goal, but Palace refused to let go of the Premier League champions. Less than a quarter of an hour later, it was 1-1. When the referee blew the whistle for full time, it was 2-2 on the scoreboard. The reigning FA Cup champions Palace seized the opportunity and ended it all with a victory in the penalty shootout.
After the game, it was a thoughtful Slot, who did not hold back on the analysis of what is still missing before the start of the Premier League. First to the positives:
-I have mixed feelings. If you look at the attack against such a compact team, it is perhaps better than last season. We only scored once against Palace last season and this time we scored two. So we created more chances against a very compact team,” the Liverpool manager told TNT Sports.
“But on the other hand, we conceded two goals, which we also did against Athletic Club. And we conceded more against Milan. We’re also conceding more goals at the moment, and if you want to win the league, you shouldn’t concede chances. And certainly not a goal, it comes from Slot in its first Community Shield. Which ended in a loss.
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On Friday, Bournemouth awaits when the Premier League seriousness starts.
