Arne Slot admitted that Brighton deserved their win over Liverpool, with the Reds being outplayed in the second half at the Amex Stadium.
“The first half was an equal game and the second half they were the better team on the pitch,” Slot said after the match.
“I think they deserved to beat us. The margins are very small as we’ve experienced a lot of times this season because their goal was only a few millimetres onside, but they deserved that goal more than us in the second half.”
The afternoon had been disrupted almost immediately when Hugo Ekitike limped off inside the opening ten minutes following a collision, leaving Slot with limited attacking options.
Asked whether fatigue had played a part in the defeat, the Liverpool manager was careful but pointed to a broader picture of accumulated absences. “You never know. There is always multiple factors. It doesn’t help when you are missing one of the top goal scorers this league has had in the last five years for the whole season already.
“The other one that has scored so many goals for the club over the last eight years was not available as well and then after two minutes, Hugo Ekitike, who has shown what a goal scorer he is, has to go out as well, that is a lot for every team and that is not helpful for any team, let alone if you play a good Brighton team.”
Liverpool’s season unravelling
When asked whether he could have done more positionally with his available players, Slot was blunt about the constraints he has been working under all season.
“We had to change something because when Hugo was out and Mo Salah was unavailable and Isak is unavailable – we have to play a player in a position that he is not used to, which is something we have had to do so many times this season, usually at right full-back.
“That has been our season and one of the reasons why we are struggling, but we are still in it, even though we are not in a perfect position to qualify for the Champions League and we have two other objectives in the FA Cup and Champions League.”
With the international break now looming, Slot had a clear message for the national team coaches inheriting his players.
“I think the players need a break more than the manager and unfortunately they have to keep on playing. Let’s hope that their national team coaches understand that at Liverpool a lot of players have played a lot of minutes – like at other clubs, but I think other clubs perhaps could have rotated more than I could have this season. So let’s hope that we’ve got national team coaches that will not play them 180 minutes over two games.”
