Frustrated Slot rues ‘same old story’ as Liverpool succumb to fresh setback

Liverpool boss Arne Slot admits their late 2-1 defeat to Wolves was “another setback” in a disappointing Premier League campaign.

Rodrigo Gomes put Wolves in front with 12 minutes to play but Liverpool were on level terms five minutes later through Mohamed Salah’s first league goal since November.

Wolves left it late once again to snatch all three points when Andre’s effort deflected off Joe Gomez and beyond the helpless Alisson Becker, meaning Rob Edwards’ side have now scored in stoppage time in their last three home matches.

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Liverpool missed the chance to go level with Aston Villa and Manchester United for the Champions League places after a ninth league defeat of the season and Slot admits the late goal summed up their campaign.

He said: “Same old story. Recently we are picking up points because we scored many times from set-pieces. But end result, we score one and they scored two and another in (added) time so it sums up our season again.

“What I mean by it sums up our season that we have far more ball possession than the other team and we’ve created most open play chances, but in open play we’ve struggled to score.

“My expectations have changed throughout the season because I expected more from us and what we are fighting for now. But it’s another setback and we didn’t help ourselves with this result, not at all.

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“But there are still nine games to play so we are coming closer to the end and dropping points in the game when it’s absolutely not necessary when you look at the run of play.

“If we play this game in this fashion 10 times, I don’t think we lose 10 times but I’m far from sure we win every time – therefore we are not good enough.”

Liverpool missed the chance to extend their winning run to four matches and could drop to sixth if Chelsea beat Villa on Wednesday.

Slot handed full credit to Wolves for their victory.

He added: “Well done by Wolves, they made it really hard for us and compact.

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“If you want to go faster you have to dominate situations on the side, and we struggled to dominate on the sides today.

“If we don’t want to rely on a deflected shot, we need to do better and play better. But we’ve had enough chances to win the game but credit to Wolves, they fought from the first second to the end and got a little bit of luck they deserved.”

Wolves’ upturn in form continues and they are still fighting for their lives despite the games running out.

They sit 11 points off safety with eight games remaining and Edwards admits it has taken a while but they are now starting to see positive results.

Edwards, who said he felt his groin “falling apart” as he ran down the touchline in celebration, said: “Certainly could get used to it, it’s a good feeling.

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“It’s taken a while to realise how hard you’ve got to work to take something from a game, especially at this level.

“There is a stark difference from when we came in to now, the level of fight and work the lads are showing.

“We’ve got a tight group that are fighting for each other and working hard. Showing that we’re not as bad as people thought.

“We’re showing characteristics what I want my teams to have but we are finding a way. That’s where I want it to be.”