(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Liverpool manager Arne Slot said“results don't lie” after a three-game losing streak as he called for defensive improvements ahead of Manchester United's visit to Anfield Sunday.
The Premier League champions won their opening seven games of the season in all competitions, but poor performances were masked by a series of late goals. Liverpool suffered defeats to Crystal Palace, Galatasaray in the Champions League and Chelsea before the international break, leaving them to fall one point behind title rivals Arsenal.
After romping to the title last season, Liverpool splashed out nearly £450mn ($604mn) on new signings, paying club-record fees for Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, neither of whom have yet scored a Premier League goal.
At the other end of the pitch, Slot's men have conceded two or more goals in four of their seven Premier League games.“We've played 10, won seven and lost three. The three loses were by close margins,” Slot said at his pre-match press conference.“But as I keep saying, we should not be dependent on such margins. Results don't lie – if you lose three in a row then you have to do better. We are aware of that and we have to react.”
Mohamed Salah's sensational form propelled Liverpool to the title last season, but the 33-year-old Egyptian has so far struggled to adjust to the changes made to the side during the transfer window. Slot pinpointed a lack of game-changing moments from his star-studded forward line and problems at set-pieces.
“We haven't created as many chances as last season and there's a reason for that – the playing style of the opponent, and we have to find answers to that,” he said.“The first answer is not to concede as many goals as we did. If a team scores one or two goals then we need three goals. In the first half of last season we mainly got these goals from a special moment from one of our front three. The second half (of the season) we needed set pieces against a low block. This season we haven't had those special moments and we haven't scored from set pieces. It's clear that conceding four goals from set pieces is far too much for a team that wants to compete.”
Goalkeeper Alisson Becker remains out with a hamstring injury, but there was better injury news for Liverpool as Ryan Gravenberch is fit to face United despite coming off injured for the Netherlands during the international break.
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim said the support of co-owner Jim Ratcliffe will mean little if he fails to turn around the club's fortunes. In an interview last week, British billionaire Ratcliffe said Amorim has to“demonstrate he is a great coach over three years”.
Amorim is approaching a year in the Old Trafford hotseat and is yet to win back-to-back Premier League games. Doing so away to Liverpool at Anfield tomorrow would be a major step in the right direction and the Portuguese knows he will be under intense pressure until results improve.
“You know, I know and Jim knows that football is not like that,” Amorim said at his pre-match press conference, referring to Ratcliffe's timescale.“The most important thing is the next game.”
United ended the season 15th in the Premier League last term – their lowest finish for 51 years – and squandered a chance to qualify for the Champions League when they lost the Europa League final to Tottenham. They have fared little better this season, sitting 10th in the Premier League after losing three of their first seven league games and crashing to a shock League Cup defeat at fourth-tier Grimsby.
Yet Amorim has so far retained the support of Ratcliffe, CEO Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox.“First of all, I can feel it. It's not just that thing that people talk, I feel it every day. Sometimes the pressure that I put on the team, on myself, is so much bigger than them,” said Amorim.“I know that it's going to take a while but I don't want to think like that. I said that last year. I think it also helps our fans to understand that the leadership understands that it's going to take a while. But, at the same moment, I don't like that because it will give a feeling that we have time to work things out. I don't want that feeling here in our club. It's good to feel the support but we need to prove in football, and especially in big clubs, that in every weekend we are ready to win games.”
A 2-0 victory over Sunderland before the international break eased the scrutiny on Amorim's position Manchester United Arne Slot

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