Liverpool supporters have expressed their worries about a statement made by Arne Slot during his pre-match press conference for the upcoming Champions League game against AC Milan.
Slot’s promising tenure at Anfield encountered its first significant challenge over the weekend when Liverpool unexpectedly lost 1-0 at home to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
Liverpool has a chance to recover quickly, with their upcoming match against Milan at San Siro on Tuesday night, marking their debut in the revamped Champions League.
Before the match, Slot was questioned about whether the surprise defeat to Forest was due to a lack of rotation, as seven of his starters had played the full match for their countries during the recent international break.
Slot dismissed this idea, referencing his past experience as Feyenoord’s manager.
“At Feyenoord, we didn’t rotate much. It’s too simplistic to blame rotation for this loss; too many players didn’t perform at their usual level,” Slot said. “The playing style of the opponent also made it difficult for us.”
Slot’s comments about his previous club in relation to Liverpool aren’t surprising, given he’s relatively new to managing Liverpool after three years at Feyenoord. However, some Liverpool supporters have questioned why he draws comparisons between the two clubs.
“Liverpool is a much bigger club than Feyenoord, with higher expectations,” remarked one fan on X.
One person remarked, “His frequent references to Feyenoord are a bit worrying. He needs to quickly understand that this is a different situation entirely.”
Another commented, “Why does he keep bringing this up? He mentioned it before the game as well… it’s not an excuse; this isn’t Feyenoord. Every match is tough, and you need to adapt and make adjustments.”
A third person added, “This isn’t the Dutch league.”
Despite the surprise defeat to Forest, Liverpool is still in a strong position early in the new season. They are currently fourth in the Premier League, just three points behind Manchester City. Their next league match is against Bournemouth on Saturday, following their game against AC Milan.
