Following Liverpool's Champions League elimination by Paris St-Germain, we examine Arne Slot's post-match press conference to assess the validity of his claims regarding the team's struggles this season... Liverpool manager Arne Slot has consistently lamented his team's inability to capitalize on scoring opportunities, and this trend continued against the European champions, with the Reds notching 1.92 Expected Goals but failing to score at Anfield.
Slot stated, "Unfortunately, this is one of many instances this season where we were unable to convert our numerous chances into goals." He added, "Once again, we underperformed significantly in terms of xG, a recurring issue throughout the season." This assertion holds true in the Champions League, where Liverpool entered the match having scored 24 goals from 27.8xG, the largest underperformance among quarter-finalists. However, the Premier League picture is less dire, with Liverpool's goal tally only 0.65 below their xG total.
While this is some way off teams like Arsenal and Manchester City, nine teams have a worse differential than Liverpool. The missed big chances are perhaps what bother Slot the most.
There were two against PSG, and only Aston Villa have a worse conversion rate of Opta-defined big chances in the Premier League this season. Liverpool have missed 59 of 86 clear-cut openings in the top flight, with Curtis Jones, Florian Wirtz, and Alexis Mac Allister among the players with the biggest underperformance of their individual xG totals. Mohamed Salah has missed 11 of 14 big chances, and Virgil van Dijk has converted just one of his eight clear-cut openings, which has clearly been costly in the league. Alexander Isak, who was signed for £125m from Newcastle, was expected to contribute significantly to Liverpool's goal tally but has struggled with injuries, including a broken leg that sidelined him in December.
Tuesday's match was his first start since recovering from that injury. The plan at the start of the season was for Isak, Wirtz, and fellow summer signing Hugo Ekitike to form a new-look £320m attack. However, Ekitike's injury against PSG added to Liverpool's frustrating night, and Slot noted that he hasn't had the opportunity to use these three players together often enough. Slot said, "For 88 minutes [before Tuesday], we played with Florian, Alex, and Hugo.
We added about 27 minutes to that [on Tuesday], and I would be surprised if we add more minutes to that this season." Regarding Ekitike's injury, he added, "Losing a game is hard, but losing a player is something we've experienced many times this season." First-choice keeper Alisson has also missed game time due to hamstring problems, Conor Bradley has undergone knee surgery, Giovanni Leoni's ACL injury has strained centre-back depth, while Jeremie Frimpong, Wataru Endo, and Joe Gomez have also been out for significant periods. Another persistent complaint from Slot this season has been the frequency of decisions made by officials going against his team.
There was a controversial call on Tuesday, with VAR overturning a penalty awarded to Mac Allister. Slot stated, "...another VAR intervention that did not favor us, and this is not the first time this season." He referenced a Brentford penalty awarded after a VAR check when Van Dijk caught Dango Ouattara and a Leeds penalty awarded after the referee was sent to look at the monitor by VAR when Konate fouled Wilfried Gnonto. When asked about his reaction to the penalty award against PSG being overturned, he responded, "If you look at our season, I'm not surprised, as many decisions have gone against us." Slot did acknowledge that Liverpool were fortunate with a couple of decisions in Paris in the first leg, with a PSG penalty overturned after Konate challenged Warren Zaire-Emery, and the defender then escaped punishment for a push in the box on Nuno Mendes. However, after a campaign that has also seen his side have a Van Dijk header controversially ruled out for offside at Manchester City and Manchester United score when Mac Allister was down with a head injury, Slot has again expressed his frustration with the officials.
Liverpool's Champions League exit to PSG, despite an improved second-leg performance, means they are set to have a trophyless season after their Premier League title win last term. This puts pressure on Slot to secure a top-five finish in the league to ensure a Champions League place for next season. Sky Sports pundit Tim Sherwood said, "Arne Slot needs to qualify for the Champions League to keep his job." However, the Dutchman has remained optimistic throughout the season that Liverpool will bounce back next year and in the years to come, given the quality of young players they have brought in. "The future looks very bright for this team, as we've shown that we can compete with the champions of Europe in our stadium and be the dominant team," he reiterated on Tuesday.
Players like Ryan Gravenberch, Ekitike, Wirtz, Bradley, and Milos Kerkez have their best years ahead of them, while the potential of 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha holds plenty of promise. But Slot and Liverpool need results in the final six games of this Premier League campaign to capitalize on that potential next season as a Champions League club.