Liverpool manager Arne Slot has defended his side after two below-par performances in a row but admits they must be more clinical to prevent them relying on good fortune for the rest of the season.
A 2-2 draw with rivals Manchester United and a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham in the EFL Cup has taken some of the shine off Slot’s superb debut campaign.
But the Dutchman believes his side’s standards have not slipped as he prepares for an FA Cup clash with League Two side Accrington Stanley on Saturday linchtime.
He said: “I think we are still the same team, in terms of performance.
“I’ve said many times, in a lot of games we won, maybe with the only exception could be Chelsea, but all the other ones we’ve deserved to win but never by a big margin, it was always very tight.
Jarell Quansah and Dominik Szoboszlai are set to come back into contention for our Emirates FA Cup tie with Accrington Stanley 👊
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 10, 2025
“What can we improve? Increasing the margin, because otherwise you’ll always depend on a bit of luck or a bit of being unlucky as well or certain decisions made by the referee.
“We must make sure that we don’t depend on those moments any more and that’s the next step we want to make if we want to not depend on luck or bad luck.
“Because of the results, people judge you on performance. It’s not many times if a team has a draw or a loss that people say they played really well.”
Liverpool last won the FA Cup in 2022 and have only ever played Stanley once before – a 2-0 win at Anfield in the FA Cup of 1956.
The Reds will likely make changes and rotate their squad, with Slot waiting on the availability of midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai and defender Jarell Quansah.
He said: “Every game is an opportunity for them to have a chance to play. Dom trained with the under-21s yesterday.
“Jarell was a bit ill last week, as a result of that I had to take him off in the game at Tottenham but I am expecting him to be available for tomorrow.
“Yes, we know we can use these players in every single game and also in the one that we have on Saturday.”
