Liverpool: Arne Slot rues 'same old story' as damning stat reveals major problem | OneFootball

Recurring issues not being fixed as dramatic Wolves defeat halts momentum

Arne Slot bemoaned the “same old story” for Liverpool after they conceded another late winner against Wolves.

The Reds saw their Champions League qualification hopes hit by a shock last-gasp defeat to the Premier League’s bottom club at Molineux on Tuesday night, ending a resurgent run of four consecutive victories across all competitions.

Per Opta Sports, as well as the first time that a team in the relegation zone has ever scored a stoppage-time winner against the defending Premier League champions, it was also the fifth time this season that Liverpool have lost a league game thanks to a goal in stoppage time.

That is the most of any club in a single season in the history of the Premier League and points to a major ongoing problem that must be fixed if they are to secure a top-five finish, with another trip to Wolves coming up on Friday night in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

“Same old story,” Slot said when reflecting on Liverpool’s performance in his post-match press conference. “Recently, we are picking up points because many times we’ve scored from set-pieces, but what did not change in the last five, six or seven games is that we struggle and find it very hard to score from the open-play chances that we do create.

“Not as many as I would like from all the ball possession we have, but enough and far more than the other team. But, end result, we score one and they score two – and indeed another time in extra-time, so it sums up our season again in this game as well.”

Pressed specifically on Liverpool’s habit of conceding late goals during what has been a hugely underwhelming follow-up to their title-winning campaign, Slot said: “What I mean with, ‘It sums up the season,’ is that that we’ve had far more ball possession than the other team, we’ve created more open-play and in-general chances than the other team, but from open play we struggle to score.

“Recently we’ve scored a lot from set-pieces. Today again, we had a lot of set-pieces. First half, [they were] very poorly taken – a bit similar to how we played. I don’t think we played a very good first half.

“The second half was better; still not great, but better. Created more and in extra-time – or just before extra-time – I think we were twice very close from chances to score the 2-1.

“Mo [Salah] was dribbling and had on the left and the right two players open, but the ball was intercepted by the defender, and the Virgil [van Dijk] header.

“Those are chances and the one we concede is not even a chance, and that is what has happened so many times to us this season.

“That it happens in extra-time might be a coincidence maybe, although it happened so many times, but we hardly gave away a chance today. We gave away one chance but conceded two.”