Arne Slot: “Real Madrid, apart from my players, are the best” | OneFootball

Real Madrid suffered a narrow 0-1 defeat at Anfield against Liverpool in the fourth round of the UEFA Champions League. 

Despite the Reds taking the win through an Alexis Mac Allister header in the second half, Xabi Alonso’s side can take some positives from their performance.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot admitted after the match that Real Madrid remain the benchmark for any top side, praising the Spanish giants for their quality and organisation.

“I’m very happy. It’s been a difficult few weeks for us. Lots of away games, hardly any rest. 

“We only had two days to prepare, but Real Madrid had the same. 

“It was important to play in front of our fans because Real Madrid, apart from my players, are the best,” Slot told Amazon Prime as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.

How to beat Real Madrid

Arne Slot beat Real Madrid for the season season running. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Real Madrid, despite missing key players in defence, did not really manage to threaten the Liverpool goal. 

The combination of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. caused problems on the counter, but fine margins denied them the breakthrough. Slot himself acknowledged the danger they posed.

“Real Madrid have scored 26 goals in La Liga. Vinicius and Mbappe have 24 goal contributions between them, so if you want to have any chance against them, you have to make sure they don’t score,” he said.

In the context of the group stage, the defeat is unlikely to significantly harm Real Madrid’s qualification hopes. 

Real Madrid remain fifth in the standings for now with nine points from four matches. 

Although there will be certainly be a change in the table, given the line of matches scheduled later today, it can be assumed that this season, Real Madrid can finish within the top eight.