Liverpool manager Arne Slott has defended his side after two consecutive under-par games but admits they need to be more clinical to prevent them relying on luck for the rest of the season.
A 2-2 draw at rivals Manchester United and a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham in the EFL Cup took some of the shine off Slott’s superb debut campaign.
But the Dutchman believes his side’s standards have not dropped as they prepare for their FA Cup clash with League Two side Accrington Stanley on Saturday.
He said: “I think we’re still the same team, performance-wise.
“I’ve said many times that we won a lot of games, maybe with the sole exception of Chelsea, but all the others we deserved to win, but never by a huge margin, it was always very close.
Jarell Quansah and Dominik Szoboszlai are back in 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 always depend on a bit of luck or a bit of bad luck or certain decisions of the referee.
“We have to make sure we don’t depend on those moments anymore and that’s the next step we want to take if we don’t want to depend on luck or misfortune.
“Because of results, people judge you based on performance. It doesn’t happen very often if a team draws or loses that people say they played really well.”
Liverpool last won the FA Cup in 2022 and have only played Stanley once before – a 2-0 win at Anfield in the FA Cup in 1956.
The Reds are likely to make changes and rotate their squad, with Slot awaiting the availability of midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai and defender Jarell Quansah.
He said: “Every game is an opportunity for them to get a chance to play. Yesterday, Dom trained with players up to the age of 21.
“Jarell was a bit ill last week, as a result I had to take him off for the game against Tottenham, but I expect him to be available for tomorrow.
“Yes, we know we can use these players in every single game, as well as the one we have on Saturday.”
