Liverpool defeated Newcastle United 4-1 at home. After the match, Liverpool manager Arne Slot attended the press conference.
Can the recent two victories build good momentum?
“Absolutely. In football, everything is judged by results. I told the players (after the Bournemouth game) before, and made it clear that we must improve both offensively and defensively. After all, many of the team's performances in transition are already at an extremely high level. In the past two games, we have scored 10 goals and conceded only 1. I think it's safe to say the team has made remarkable progress in both attack and defense. So I'm delighted with the results of these two games, but also aware that we dropped too many points before, and this performance is clearly far from enough.”
You must be happy with the decision to sign Ekitike initially.
“Indeed, but it's not just him who deserves praise; our other new signings also performed excellently today. Everyone will talk about his goals and brilliant displays, which is only right, as that's what commentators and all fans should focus on. By contrast, they don't pay much attention to a player's off-the-ball running efficiency. But as a manager, what I see is that the players have been improving over the past six or seven months, especially recently, with a huge leap in their pressing efficiency without the ball. It's not just pressing; their ability to keep running off the ball has also improved significantly, with Ekitike and Wirtz being typical examples. Their growth over the past seven or eight months is there for all to see, and I think everyone can see this progress now. The better the team performs without the ball, the higher the possession rate, and the more chances they have to showcase their extraordinary talent. The senior players in the team who have won league titles are also moving forward with them, though the integration process has taken some time, given the intensity of the Premier League.”
Let's talk about Konaté's emotional moment.
“Of course, Konaté has had an extremely tough past two weeks, and maybe still does. We spoke last weekend, and he said he planned to rejoin the team later this weekend, meaning he wasn't originally going to play this game. But when he saw the team's defensive issues, he called me early this week, saying he wanted to return early to help the team face Newcastle. He rejoined on Wednesday, trained with the team twice, and today, he not only scored but also delivered a perfect performance throughout the game. The fans applauded him warmly the whole time, especially when he scored. After the final whistle, when he walked into the dressing room, his teammates also expressed their sincere recognition.”
Satisfaction with the growing understanding between players over the past few weeks.
“Of course, I'm well aware of that. But I don't think it's a surprise to anyone, especially me. The more times players play together, the deeper their understanding naturally becomes. I've explained before that at the start of the season, the team played every three days, making it hard for players to build chemistry. But things are different now; their fitness is enough to sustain consecutive games, they've played together more often, and we can stick to a fixed starting lineup and tactical combinations more frequently. Last season's experience has proven that the more stable the squad, the better the performance. I've always said I prefer to use a fixed starting eleven as much as possible, though various objective factors make it hard to achieve consistently, but now we're getting closer to that goal. You can also see that the team's coordination is getting better and better, not just between Wirtz and Ekitike, but among all players.”
Can you describe the specific scene when Konaté walked into the dressing room after the final whistle?
“After the game, Konaté and Wirtz first went for interviews, and we all waited for them in the dressing room. The moment Konaté walked in, everyone cheered for them, and the cheers were mostly for Konaté. Scoring a goal when he's been through such a tough time means a lot to him. I think this team has long proven that we support each other no matter who is in trouble. His teammates have been with him the past few days, which is why everyone is so happy about his goal. Someone told me this is his first goal at Anfield since joining the team; I'm not sure if that's true, I'll just take their word for it.”
Securing the first Premier League comeback since last April.
“This statistic is indeed unsatisfactory, and I didn't even notice it. Are you talking about home games, or all league games home and away? This is the first time we've come from behind to win in the league after conceding first since the Tottenham game. Yeah, it's been too long since the last one. We've actually had many instances of fighting back after conceding, and shown our resilience countless times, but unfortunately, like last week's game, we still conceded late on. So I think the significance of this game is not just the comeback win after going behind, but the entire process of our victory. Our defensive performance in the box, our desire to attack the opposition's area. We struggled a lot in the first half hour, and even after the hour mark, we could have scored more goals. Honestly, it took us a long time to score the first goal; before that, we created many chances but just couldn't take them, yet we never stopped pressing. The coordination between the fans and the players was perfect today. This comeback win is important, but I think the team's overall performance in both attack and defense is more worthy of praise.”
Talk about Ekitike.
“Ekitike is a very interesting player, always full of energy. He not only brings a lot of positive atmosphere to training sessions but also makes the pitch more vibrant, and the fans love him too. From the moment he joined the team, everyone could see his extraordinary talent and amazing speed, and his second goal is the best proof. In a one-on-one situation, he chose to go wide, which is extremely difficult in modern football. Usually players cut inside and shoot with their right foot, but he tore the defense apart in his own way. But I still want to emphasize that his ball retention ability has always been excellent, so maybe the progress there isn't that noticeable because he was great from the start. His biggest improvement is in his off-the-ball pressing efficiency, which is crucial for any team, especially for us, a team that wants to maintain a high press for 95 minutes.”
The team's situation before the transfer window closes.
"Indeed, there's never a shortage of talk about Liverpool and Liverpool players. The club has been surrounded by various rumors over the past few weeks, but today, our fans showed everyone what real 'atmosphere' is – deafening cheers, and their support today helped the team a lot. This is the Anfield atmosphere. Our current goal has always been to strengthen the squad, not weaken it. The transfer window has 48 hours left, maybe 72 hours, no one knows for sure. Let's just wait for the window to close and see the final outcome."
