Arne Slot sparks ‘unacceptable’ Liverpool concerns ahead of big Sunderland clash | Football | Sport
Arne Slot has acknowledged the high stakes of failing to secure a Champions League spot next season for a club of Liverpool’s stature, hinting it would have a huge impact on the club’s transfer activity. The reigning Premier League champions suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester City, leaving them trailing four points behind fifth-placed Chelsea. Had City’s disallowed third goal been counted, Liverpool would have slipped to seventh place, level on goal difference with Brentford.
Despite their current standing in the Champions League last 16, a strong league finish is crucial as a safety net should they fail to clinch the European title. In a candid admission in a pre-match press conference on Wednesday morning, Slot stressed the significance of securing a Champions League berth for the upcoming season. He said: “Yes, if we don’t have Champions League football, it is definitely not an acceptable season.
“The season I arrived here, we could only sign Federico Chiesa and that summer and that was after a Europa League season. The way this club is run, it does have a huge impact.”
With both Manchester United and Chelsea playing tonight, Liverpool’s gap to the top four could widen before they face Sunderland. Slot conceded that his team must strive for near-perfection for the remainder of the season to ensure their place in next year’s Champions League.
“[We have to be] close to perfection because of the points we are behind,” the Dutchman stated.
“We also know it is different when you are four points behind a team that are 18th or 19th in the league because they usually don’t pick up as many points as the number three, four or five picks up, so to close the gap to numbers three, four and five, that means you have to win a lot and that is not what we have done this season a lot, so that is why that has to be better and that is why we have to be close to perfection.
“Margins are indeed very small because seven minutes before the end we were five points behind City and five minutes later we were 11 points behind.”
