Liverpool manager Arne Slot has been sharing his reaction to a much-needed home win against Brighton on Saturday, plus the return of Mohamed Salah to the pitch.
MORE — Recap, video highlights
Slot’s side won 2-0 thanks to goals from Hugo Ekitike in each half, while Mohamed Salah was brought on in the first half for the injured Joe Gomez and played well on his return to the team (he grabbed an assist on Ekitike’s second goal) after a tumultuous week.
Here’s the latest Arne Slot reaction after the game.
Arne Slot reaction on Liverpool win, return of Mohamed Salah
On Mohamed Salah’s performance after coming on in the first half: “I think he was a threat,” Slot told Sky Sports. “I think the first ball he touched he almost gave an assist to [Alexis] Mac Allister who squared it, I think, and maybe was a chance for him to shoot as well. He was constantly in the threat we had. It was pleasing to see but also not a surprise because he has done that many times in a Liverpool shirt.”
On if it was an easy decision to include Salah in the squad and if he got an apology: “It was an easy decision to put him in the squad and I’ve said many times before what has been said between the two of us, for me that stays between the two of us, and he was back in the squad again and we needed him because he was the first substitution I made. He assisted for the 2-0 for the corner kick which is also very nice for us because we have been so many times this season on the wrong side of the set-piece battle. Today we scored one and didn’t concede. That led to our win.”
On what happens next with Mohamed Salah now heading away with Egypt: “He goes to Egypt now to the AFCON and that means for us, another player down. We already didn’t have a lot today. This is what we knew before the season started that he would go there and hopefully one or two players from injury can come back, actually I expect only one, but let’s see. Next week it’s Tottenham away which is a challenge on its own.”
On his reaction to Liverpool’s performance and result: “Hard work. We had to work really hard for this win. Because we faced a very good team that kept on going until the end. For the first time in weeks, maybe I should say months, that we had a little bit of luck on our side. Of course we had enough chances as well. They had more chances than multiple other teams we’ve faced have had and now we have a clean sheet when in some other games we’ve conceded three without having conceding a chance.”
On why it was so open in Liverpool’s half of the pitch: “I don’t think it was constantly open but there were a lot of good players on the pitch and they can create things also in small spaces. I think in the second half the moments they had were when we were together in our box and when we had our chances that came mainly from counter attacks in the second half. In the meantime I also liked the way we played. I think we were quite comfortable and good on the ball. Maybe we deserved this little bit of luck when I look at the mentality the players have shown with the injuries we had again, substitutions we had to make, players on so many different positions because we didn’t have one-on-one replacements. The mentality was very good.”
On Hugo Ekitike’s display: “I think in moments he was impressive today. We saw a few times that the goals he scored on themselves were good goals but I think there were other moments where I thought ‘wow’ and that was a few times when he made a sprint, you could see how fast he is compared to some others. That is of course why we wanted him, apart from the goals he can score, and that is good to see that he, and many others who have come during the summer, are making progress. He is definitely one of them.”
On Florian Wirtz and if he’s getting better and better each game: “Yeah, definitely. The way he handles the ball, how comfortable he is with that. I think he is also one of the players I mean when I say he is getting better and better. He was already very good when we signed him but he’s getting better and better. He’s getting stronger and stronger, running people off the ball, all the hard work the players have put in in the last few months is paying off more and more if you look at individual performances.”
On a quiet Saturday evening and a free week: “I would love to say train but I just looked in the dressing room and I wonder if we can play five-a-side. It’s also after so many games played a week where we an recover a little bit but it’s not only the upcoming but the week after is also a normal week. So there will be some training side if we can do a lot with certain players. That is the question mark.”
