Liverpool players are too honest for their own good
The Dutchman said he often 'blamed' them for not taking a genuine foul when they had the option but also felt their positive approach was in part responsible for their success last season.
He has key midfielder Ryan Gravenberch missing through suspension for Friday's season-opener at home to Bournemouth, while Slot was misguided in his interpretation of why his reasoning was based on a general viewpoint.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot believes his team are sometimes too honest for their own good (Martin Rickett/PA)
Slot thought the Netherlands international had been dismissed for a second bookable offence in the final match of last season against Crystal Palace, when in fact he received a straight red for bringing down Daichi Kamada as he prepared to race through on goal.
'If there is one team in the league that is, in my opinion, the most honest when we play – I sometimes blame them that they never try to make from a foul a little bit more – and never dives and never time delays and all these kind of things, then it is us,' said Slot.
'In the (Community Shield) game against Palace they hold Florian (Wirtz) in midfield and he didn't fall over and the referee says 'If you don't fall, I don't give a free-kick', which is a little bit weird.
'Than a fraction later they fell down in a moment which wasn't even a foul and the referee thought 'Oh, he fell down so it probably is a foul'.
If there is one team in the league that is, in my opinion, the most honest when we play and never dives and never time delays, then it is us
'We had much more ball possession than Palace but we made 13 fouls and they made five. That tells you also about who we are.'
Slot said despite the increased challenge that defending their title would pose – and the tactics opponents may employ – he did not want his team to become more streetwise.
'Maybe for me to use the right words in English, you can never be too honest. But I saw this week Fenerbahce-Feyenoord and saw a lot of moments where players were really smart,' he added.
'These kind of things, should we use them? I'm not so sure.
'For me the best game last season I was part of was Paris St Germain against us, especially our home game.
The new season starts here.
2025/26 🔜 pic.twitter.com/VmoxPb8dbu — Premier League (@premierleague) June 18, 2025
'I liked that a little bit more than the away game. It was so high intensity because both teams were just here to play and not to try to pretend a foul was more or time delaying.
'I am most proud of the fact of who we are and we won the league last season with the team we were so let us stay who we are.
'We are a very fair team, that is clear also maybe the reason we won the league so why change something which went well.'
Off the field Liverpool have agreed a £26million plus add-ons deal to sign Parma defender Giovanni Leoni to bolster their options in central defence, where they had only two specialists in the position for pre-season after an injury to Joe Gomez from which he had only returned this week.
The 18-year-old is expected to undergo a medical and Slot said: 'The clubs have agreed a deal but he hasn't signed for us yet. The moment when he signs for us I can go into more detail.'
Slot, however, refused to speculate on their pursuit of Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi as talks continue.
'He is not our player and unfortunately he was the captain of the team we lost against last Sunday,' he added. 'If you want any talks on him you should go to Palace and (Oliver) Glasner and ask his opinion about it.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
22 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
The best Irish player to play for each of this season's 20 Premier League clubs
The globalisation of the game, multi-national investment and the FAI's failure to create a fit-for-purpose environment to develop elite players have irrefutably diluted Ireland's impact on English football over the past two decades.
Irish Independent
5 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Liverpool's opening night marred by racist incident as late show from Chiesa and Salah foils Bournemouth comeback
As four of their forwards scored, as their showed how devastating they can be in attack, it is becoming ever more apparent that Arne Slot has already signed a high-class striker this summer, one with sleekness and speed, the potential to be prolific and an ability to excel at Anfield. And yet a manager who lamented, after taking Hugo Ekitike off in the Community Shield, that he did not have an understudy, conjured a dramatic victory courtesy of Anfield's forgotten forward. Federico Chiesa's belated first Premier League goal came a year after his arrival, and yet with perfect timing, hooked in from the penalty spot after Bournemouth, from 2-0 down, had levelled to leave their fans chorusing about being top of the league. Then they were bottom: Chiesa, a player of great pedigree, albeit one whose body can let him down and whose manager rarely seems to trust him, delivered the masterly finish, before Mohamed Salah's habitual opening-day strike clinched the win. The chances are that Chiesa will end up back in Italy before the transfer window closes. And yet, on a night that suggested all Liverpool require is a deputy for Ekitike, he proved the ideal understudy. And yet a game that had contained much of the best the division has to offer, whether in its pace and thrilling finish, the excitement of new arrivals and the competitiveness of Andoni Iraola's fearless Bournemouth, it was marred, disgracefully, by the first incident of racist abuse of the Premier League season, directed at Antoine Semenyo, causing the game to be halted by referee Anthony Taylor in the first half. The suspected offender was removed at the interval by the police. It should go without saying that footballers should not have to provide eloquent rejoinders to racial abuse, but Semenyo did anyway. His was an outstanding display, his second-half brace dragging Bournemouth back into the game and, after the Community Shield, underlining concerns that Slot's new-look Liverpool have lost control and look too susceptible defensively. But they look full of goals. Ekitike had scored after four minutes of his bow in the Community Shield. It took him 37 to open his Premier League account. He added an assist for good measure. With the Frenchman in this form, would Liverpool's £110m bid for Isak only have bought them the most expensive of substitutes? There was some fortune in the way Ekitike got past Marcos Senesi, none in his cool finish, sidefooted past Djordje Petrovic. The departed Darwin Nunez rarely demonstrated such calmness in front of goal. Ekitike also served as a focal point, linking play intelligently. He teed up Cody Gakpo when the winger cut infield to place a shot in the far corner of the net. The Dutchman may be the beneficiary of Luis Diaz's sale, his status as the first-choice left winger apparent right now, and this was a fine finish. Yet on an evening when one newcomer excelled, another was given a torrid time, the £40m signing Milos Kerkez targeted by Bournemouth and tormented by his former teammate Semenyo. He should have been booked before he was, got hooked on the hour and yet Semenyo's goals came when his immediate opponent was Andy Robertson. But Liverpool failed to close the game down. Semenyo swept in a shot from David Brooks' low cross and then both leading a break from his edge of his own box and finishing it as Liverpool were cut open far too easily. Their new centre-back, the £26m signing Giovanni Leoni, watched on from the stands, perhaps realising that he may have his work cut out unless this team can tighten up. Slot's defensive substitutions had been followed by Bournemouth goals. His attacking changes led to Liverpool scoring. He summoned Chiesa at 2-2, replacing Florian Wirtz, and it proved a terrific decision. Then Salah extended his own record of goals in the division's opening weekend, his 10th a brilliant finish with his right foot. It was, though, about a fifth Liverpool forward, besides the goalscorers, the man whose name was heard but who has been taken from their ranks. Salah was tearful at the end remembering his lost friend. Anfield, the Bournemouth fans included, had paid a moving tribute to Diogo Jota. The loudest renditions of the Portuguese's name here was both a reminder of tragedy and a rallying cry. Ekitike celebrated his goal by mimicking the 20, the shirt number that will never be worn again. Liverpool did much right, on and off the field, but it was tarnished by the actions of one in the crowd.
The 42
6 hours ago
- The 42
Forgotten man Chiesa the hero as Liverpool win opener late on
LIVERPOOL STRUCK twice in the final minutes through Federico Chiesa and Mohamed Salah to overcome a battling Bournemouth 4-2 in a thrilling start to the Premier League season on Friday. Antoine Semenyo looked to have rescued a point for the Cherries by scoring twice, after he had reported an incident of racial abuse from a fan, to cancel out Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo's strikes for the defending champions. Advertisement But on an emotive night as Anfield remembered Diogo Jota, Chiesa was the unlikely hero as the injury-hit Italian fired the home side back in front before Salah rounded off the scoring. More to follow – © AFP 2025
