‘I have to check…’ – Arne Slot delivers honest assessment after last-gasp Nketiah sucker punch | OneFootball

Arne Slot gave a typically honest assessment of the goal which inflicted Liverpool’s first defeat of the season on Saturday.

The Reds were on course for a decent point away to Crystal Palace after Federico Chiesa’s 87th-minute equaliser, but a lapse in concentration allowed Eddie Nketiah to strike the winning goal seven minutes into stoppage time.

The away team’s coaching staff had vented their fury at the officials after full-time, with six minutes of added time having initially been indicated, but once the head coach had a few minutes to process what happened, he took a philosophical view of the games’ decisive moment.

Slot gives honest post-match assessment

Speaking to Sky Sports shortly after the final whistle, Slot said (via BBC Sport): “It is never ideal when you concede in extra time of extra time, but there was a sub so half a minute extra was fair. I have to check when they exactly scored but we have to defend the throw-in better.

“We take learnings from all the games we have played and we can take even more from a game like this.”

(Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

A typically up-front verdict from Slot

Credit to Slot for being brutally honest in that assessment of Nketiah’s goal (like he was after the midweek win over Southampton), which was thorougly preventable from a Liverpool point of view.

The clock had just gone into 97 minutes when Palace broke from a throw-in, and while Milos Kerkez managed to snuff out one chance from a throw-in, it was from the subsequent delivery that the Reds switched off and the Eagles attacker pounced.

It doesn’t matter how much stoppage time is initially indicated – when a match is in the balance, as today’s most certainly was, you have to concentrate until the full-time whistle blows. We didn’t do that and were duly punished, so the only blame lies with ourselves.

Slot will drive that message into his squad ahead of the Champions League clash away to Galatasaray on Tuesday, which offers a quick opportunity for Liverpool to put today’s disappointment behind them and focus on making it two wins out of two to begin their European campaign.

So long as the Reds learn from their fateful mistakes at Selhurst Park, they should still be in the mix to retain their Premier League title this season. They continue to lead the way despite the costly lapse in south London this afternoon.