Liverpool manager Arne Slot defended his team’s play after their Sunday 3-2 loss to Fulham at Craven Cottage.
It was only Liverpool’s second league defeat this season and their first away loss, despite taking the lead in the 13th minute through a long-range shot from Alexis Mac Allister.
But things quickly changed as Fulham scored three goals within 14 minutes in the first half. Ryan Sessegnon, Alex Iwobi, and Rodrigo Muniz punished Liverpool’s poor defence. Luis Díaz pulled one back in the second half, but it was not enough to rescue the Reds.
Slot admitted the goals they conceded were not good enough for a club like Liverpool.
“It’s not often we concede three goals, let alone in 15 minutes,” Slot told BBC Sport. “We could have prevented it. Conceding three goals like we did is not of the standards of Liverpool.”
He said the second half performance was better, but the team had already suffered too much damage early in the game.
“We scored a good goal but apart from that, the second-half performance was much more what we’re like. We were creating chance after chance, but we lacked time to make up for the mistakes we made in the first half,” he said.
Despite the loss, Liverpool still sit 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League with seven games to play. However, Slot warned his players not to relax.
“There is no reason for us to be complacent,” he said. “We are not number one because we win every game by three or four goals. It takes a lot of effort, hard work and quality. We are fully aware we have to compete for seven more games.”
He added that even though Liverpool have had a great season, unlike previous champions who often led 3-0 by half-time, his team has had to fight for every win.
“The message to the players was that they showed great character in the second half, but we’ve had too many difficult first halves. Normally, we make up for it, but this time it didn’t happen,” Slot said.
Liverpool’s next games will be crucial as they push to win a record-equalling 20th league title.
