Liverpool boss Arne Slot on Konate’s form, set-piece struggles and positive signs despite draw with Leeds | OneFootball

Arne Slot insists he has reasons to be positive despite Liverpool letting a two-goal lead slip to draw 3-3 with Leeds.

Liverpool led 2-0 at Elland Road thanks to a double from Hugo Ekitike.

But Ibrahima Konate’s foul on Willy Gnonto allowed Dominic Calvert-Lewin to equalise from the penalty spot.

Dominik Szoboszlai put the Reds back in front but Ao Tanaka struck from a corner late on to salvage a point for Daniel Farke’s side.

On Konate conceding a penalty, the Liverpool boss said: “Unfortunately for him, he does a lot of things well but he’s been, a bit too much, at the crime scene.

“That is something I’ve heard people saying before in England, so that means he’s been involved in goals we’ve conceded. But if you are a centre-back, that happens in football.

“Today it was a tackle that came from effort. He tried to do everything to block the cross, the ball went out, the player already went down a little bit, and then there was contact. That was obvious and clear.

“The question is, should the VAR have interfered for that? Probably a lot of people will say that’s correct, but these same people should look at some games we’ve played this season where the VAR didn’t come in moments like this.”

After conceding another goal from a set-piece, Slot admits his side must do better but insists they have been harshly punished.

“It’s so much more than you can expect if you look at what to expect from a chance,” he explained.

“Do you know what I mean? We’re talking about expected goal value. If you look at that, we haven’t even conceded that much from set-pieces, but to concede in reality, ten, I don’t think there’s any team in the world that can be in a higher league position than we are if you concede ten set-pieces and have not scored in the Premier League once, unless you count Dominic’s free-kick. Or maybe one, the West Ham second phase throw-in.

“Then it’s hardly possible to be in a higher position or having more points than we have if you concede so many of those.

“For me, it’s not the set-up because it’s the same set-up as we had last season, where we hardly conceded, not conceded at all in the first half of the season. In this set-up, there are a lot of similar players that are mainly important. 

“So, yeah, tell me what it is. If I tell you now it’s bad luck, then you would probably say, hmm, maybe that’s a bit too much after 15 games.”

The draw means Liverpool have won just one of the last six games in all competitions but having not lost in the last three in the league, Slot insists there is reason to be positive.

“It’s really hard, but it’s not about me,” Slot said on his side’s form. “It’s about what the players feel, what the fans feel, what everyone that loves this football club feels, and I think we all feel the same at this moment.

“But what I also hope everyone sees is that these players are fighting really, really hard and combine that with good football.

“Again, today we hardly conceded a chance. Hardly conceded a chance and conceded three goals.

“I can take a lot of positives from this game. If we would have won it with 3-2 or 2-0, I think we would have all said, controlled performance, dominant, against a very difficult team to play against because Chelsea experienced it, City experienced it in the second half, they changed their playing style to long ball, long ball, long ball. They didn’t do this before, so it has shown how difficult it is to play against that style.

“We know this for a long time because teams do this against us already for 14 games, but some other teams have experienced this now as well. 

“And I think we are improving. Individuals are improving, performances are improving. But, as you just said, it’s hard to take for these players as well that are putting so much effort in, fighting so hard, doing a lot of things well, not to get the result so many times after each other.

“I think we can all understand that that does something with an individual and with a team. But, as I said, I will keep reminding everyone about the fact that after the 2-2, I didn’t see a team that stopped. I saw a team that came back to 3-2, and after the 3-3, I saw a team that had the biggest chance. 

“But, yeah, we have to do a lot to score a goal, as I’ve said many times already.”