Arne Slot previews Bournemouth visit to Anfield as Liverpool look to fix last weekend's issues
20/09/2024
AXA training centre, Liverpool, UK
20/09/2024
AXA training centre, Liverpool, UK
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00:00have done really well in the last games.
00:04Did he have to build Darwin's confidence there as well?
00:07No, no. I think he came back with a lot of confidence from the Copa America, I think, yeah.
00:13Did he score some good goals there?
00:15Yeah, he scored some good goals, and no, I don't think...
00:17Darwin always has confidence, and he has every right to have this confidence,
00:21because everywhere he played he always scored goals,
00:24and as a striker sometimes you have a few games that you don't score
00:27and then all of a sudden you score a lot.
00:30As long as he brings his work rate in for the team and we bring him enough in positions,
00:34I'm 100 per cent sure he or Djoko or all one of the others will score his goals.
00:39We saw Bournemouth come to Anfield last season, got an early goal,
00:42seemed to want to go toe-to-toe with Liverpool as well,
00:44what are you expecting from them this season?
00:47They started off quite well, with a win against their neighbours,
00:52that caught the eye the most, of course, because they were 2-0 down so late in the game.
00:58But I think Iriota has done a tremendous job over there,
01:03plays nice football to watch, develops players, has a nice playing style,
01:09so all credits for him, but hopefully we can manage to do better against Bournemouth tomorrow
01:17than we did against Nottingham Forest last week.
01:19Jack Nutting, new injury, where is he?
01:22Alisson is still doubted if he can train today, so let's wait if he can train,
01:27if he can't then he will probably not play as well, so we have to wait and see.
01:31Apart from Javi and Elliot, of course.
01:35I wonder what your memories are of working with Luis Sinistra and Marcos Seneci?
01:42Only positive memories, of course, except for one moment.
01:47We had a great season, we reached the final of the Conference League with these two players,
01:54that were really important for our team then as well.
01:57Unfortunately we lost the final, so that's the only bad memory I have
02:01when it comes to that season and to the players that played in that team.
02:07Luis Sinistra is a winger that I like, because he dominates one-on-one, can score a goal,
02:15and Marcos Seneci has always had a lot of impact at Feyenoord
02:20and also in the one season he worked with me.
02:22What qualities did Bournemouth have to have to pull off the fight back they did
02:28the last trip to Merseyside?
02:30They were aggressive last season, I saw this because I saw parts of the game yesterday.
02:37They were really aggressive, high-press, made it really difficult for Liverpool
02:43to get the ball forward to the forwards as well,
02:48and scored a goal by a high-press, I think they took the ball off Trent and scored.
02:55And that's the style they usually play, so that's also what we expect from them tomorrow.
03:01And they have a lot of individual quality as well,
03:05because I just said Andy did a great job over there,
03:08but I think the sports director that worked there for so many years did a very good job as well.
03:12Maybe because of that Liverpool tried to take him from him.
03:16Because he brought in some really good and talented players,
03:20where Marcos and Luis are two examples of,
03:24but I can tell you more if you want me to.
03:27Because you referred to him, how is the relationship with Richard developing in these weeks?
03:35It's been good from the start, and like with all the others you work with,
03:40it only develops if you work longer with each other, if you get to know each other better.
03:44He gets to know my ideas about football even better, he already knew them really, really well.
03:51That was also the reason why I wanted to join Liverpool,
03:54because he knew more about me than only the results.
03:58And I get to know him day by day even better,
04:03and the work relationship is really good, as well as how we get along off the pitch.
04:09Arnout, great result, great performance in midweek in Milan.
04:14How important was that, not just to get you off to a good start in the Champions League,
04:18but to bounce back from the defeat against Nottingham Forest?
04:22And also, was that evidence of the players getting to know more of what you want and expect from them?
04:28That evidence I think they've showed for many games, except for this one game,
04:33which you just mentioned, Nottingham Forest,
04:36in all the pre-season and all the games we played in the season until now,
04:40I think they showed their quality and how well we can play.
04:44For me it was not only about bouncing back after the loss against Nottingham Forest,
04:49it was also the reason that the last two years how we performed in Europe.
04:55We had some difficulties in the Champions League two years ago,
04:59and last season when Atalanta came it was also a difficult moment.
05:03So I think we had a point to prove and the standards were set really high
05:07by so many Liverpool teams, but also by a few that are still playing in this team.
05:12And we have to try to get back to those standards in this season,
05:17and we made a good step against AC Milan.
05:20I think if you can play an away game in San Siro, first game,
05:24and then not the result but the way we played,
05:28that shows that we are a very difficult team to beat,
05:33but we can also play really good football,
05:35dominating football in another stadium than Anfield.
05:41A different sort of opposition Bournemouth than Nottingham Forest
05:45in terms of their style, you mentioned their high press,
05:48that might give Liverpool routes to be more ambitious,
05:53maybe more space than there was last week,
05:56do you think the players have learned the lessons from last week?
05:59I know it was a substandard team performance,
06:02but there was quite a lot that was wrong from what we'd normally expect from Liverpool.
06:06Yeah, I agree.
06:09There were more things that we weren't happy about in all the other games I just mentioned,
06:14that we've played till now.
06:17Actually, I prefer to play against the low block,
06:21because you have the ball a lot and the other team is far away from your goal,
06:25so normally with all the quality we have, if you have the ball so many times,
06:30I think we had 70 per cent ball possession in and around their 18-yard box,
06:34you would expect us to create a lot with the quality we have.
06:38I think we haven't faced that a lot till now,
06:42so it was a good moment to reflect and see what we can do better.
06:46Although it sounds simple, if every player plays 5 per cent better than against Nottingham Forest,
06:52which is not that difficult, to be honest,
06:56then that will make a massive change already apart from us,
07:00that we can do certain things better and certain positioning or certain runs we have to improve.
07:09Arnout, how have you been getting used to the English schedule since you've come in,
07:15compared to what you've been used to?
07:18I ask because talk of players striking and workload has been in the news a lot this week.
07:24I don't know if you know, but in Holland we also have an Eredivisie,
07:28so we also play games in the weekends, and we also play Champions League or Europa League,
07:32so we also play during the week.
07:34There's only one difference, and that's the upcoming week, when we play the League Cup.
07:39So till now I haven't seen anything different than what I was used to at my former clubs,
07:45but the Premier League has four extra games compared to the Eredivisie and the League Cup,
07:50that's the main difference.
07:52But from the start till now I think we've played just as many games as my former club,
07:57so that's not an issue for me.
08:01But the main difference between the Premier League and every other league in Europe,
08:06and you all know, is that we have to play during Christmas and New Year.
08:13I think at those moments that's the biggest difference between this league and all the other leagues.
08:19AC Milan had to play on the weekend, they had to play on Tuesday,
08:22and they will play during the weekend also again.
08:26But, and that's probably what you mean, the strength of the league, the quality of the league,
08:32the quality of Nottingham Forest, of Bournemouth, that is much, much higher
08:36than if you play an Eredivisie game against a team that doesn't play for the top six positions.
08:44So this is where it makes a difference.
08:48Are you already planning accordingly, even this early in the season, considering what's to come?
08:53Yeah, we think about this, but there goes a lot into making a line-up,
08:59not only long-term planning, short-term planning, how fit are they,
09:02what does the opponent do, what's the form of our players?
09:07But you are aware of the fact that it's going to be a long season,
09:11where you need a lot of players.
09:14So if you need a lot of players, then they also need once in a while some playing time,
09:18so we are aware of that, and that's also what we take into account if we make a line-up,
09:22but it's not the only thing I take into account.
09:27Can I just check what Alisson's issue is and how it happened?
09:32Yeah, you can check.
09:35But if I can answer that question, he has a slight issue with one of his muscles,
09:42and we wonder if this game from tomorrow is coming too early or not.
09:48I think he didn't take it from the Milan game, it happened a bit before,
09:53but after the Milan game he felt more and more,
09:57and now we have to wait and see if he's ready to be in goal tomorrow,
10:01or we have to wait a few more extra days.
10:04Can I ask as well, aside from the obvious of saving shots,
10:09what role does the goalkeeper play in your team?
10:13Catching crosses, which in my opinion is a really important one as well.
10:21And playing out from the back is something he needs to do
10:25if the other team presses us really high,
10:28but he has to make the right choices, because if we are 1-1,
10:32which for example against Sevilla happened a few times,
10:36then he has to understand that he has to play the long ball.
10:40So he's part of build-up, but his main focus is of course in saving balls
10:44and catching the crosses to prevent the other team from scoring,
10:48which we as a team and he as an individual did quite well,
10:52looking at the fact that we only conceded two goals in five games.
10:56Hi, Arne, I wanted to ask you about Cody Gakko.
10:59You mentioned post-match in Milan that he was originally splendid
11:02to start against Wellington Forest, but you made a fitness assessment with Diaz.
11:06If he had any disappointment or anger about that decision,
11:09it looked like he turned it into a determination to really make his mark on the game,
11:13which he emphatically did against Milan.
11:16Can you use that as the benchmark within your squad?
11:19With every matchday squad there's going to be players disappointed to be on the bench,
11:22disappointed to not even make the bench,
11:24can you use his performance as the benchmark
11:26and how to react to everybody else within the squad?
11:33His game might have come from anger,
11:36but I think you don't need anger to play in the best possible way,
11:39so if you play every week or once in a while you have to give it your best,
11:44and I think he benefits from two things apart from anger,
11:48and that is his own quality.
11:51We know how special of a player he is,
11:54and he benefits from players around him and the team,
11:57the structure and the moments when he gets the ball,
12:00and that he gets the ball when he is in the right positions.
12:03And that made for him a great performance,
12:07but the one he's in competition with had some good performances as well,
12:12so that's what I mean, it's all about the team.
12:16And these players that play for Liverpool all have a lot of quality,
12:19so there's not one player that doesn't have quality.
12:22So if they can show up, if that comes from anger or not,
12:25but just work hard, then the team and individual quality will lead to good performances.
12:33Jürgen, this is actually about the Anfield atmosphere.
12:35Last weekend there was a fair bit of frustration, especially in the second half.
12:39Is there a need for the fans to stay patient as much as there is for your players
12:43when you're trying to break down a team that defends so deep?
12:46My only frustration was about how we played,
12:50and I think we as a team and as players have to be aware of the fact
12:54that fans need something to get behind the team.
12:59I don't think we did this enough, and the only thing I can ask the fans is,
13:04if we don't show up enough, maybe they can help us,
13:08to say, OK, it looks like it's not their day of the players today,
13:12so let's help them by singing, cheering, whatever they can come up with.
13:17But I like to look at ourselves, we have to do better,
13:21and if we do better I think the fans will enjoy what they see
13:25and then they will be behind the team.
13:27So it starts with us doing better tomorrow,
13:30but maybe if we don't, which I'm not expecting or hoping for,
13:34maybe the fans can give us an extra push
13:37by showing what it needs for us to win the game.