Arne Slot conceded Liverpool were “not as aggressive” in the final third, but felt there was no “drop-off” in their performance during Sunday’s defeat to Chelsea.
The newly crowned champions suffered only their third league loss of the season after going down 3-1 at Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool are only the fourth team to lose their first league game after they were crowned Premier League champions after Arsenal in 1997-98 (against Liverpool), Chelsea in 2005-06 (against Blackburn Rovers) and the Reds themselves in 2019-20 (against Manchester City).
Slot’s side enjoyed 64.6% of possession, but could only register two shots on target across the 90 minutes, and the Dutchman acknowledged that lack of a cutting edge was crucial.
“For many things, I didn’t see a drop-off,” he told BBC Match of the Day. “Today, we could see why we have won this league.
“We brought the ball out from the back really well. We came back after being 2-0 down, and we didn’t give up. But as I have said before, margins are small. At some moments, a few percent were not there.
“They were a constant threat on the counter-attack, but they have a very good team; well-organised and so many great individuals.
“Yes, we slipped twice with the goals we conceded, but the amount of times we could play through Chelsea was much more than half a season ago.
“In the final third, we were not as aggressive, and we missed a few percent to score the goal.”
Full-time at Stamford Bridge. #CHELIV pic.twitter.com/XFXui063f3
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 4, 2025
Virgil van Dijk gave Liverpool hope with his 13th headed goal from a corner in the Premier League; a tally only bettered by John Terry (19) and Dion Dublin (14).
However, it ultimately proved academic, and the Reds skipper was left frustrated he and his team-mates were unable to underline their status as the newly crowned champions.
“I think possession was quite good, but when we didn’t have the ball, the pressing wasn’t great, and they could find between the lines,” he said.
“To concede that early is not great, but if we start to play the way we want to play, then we can create chances. There were chances for us to score. In the end, they deserved the win. That’s the disappointing thing as we came here to win.
“Obviously, we tried, but it wasn’t great. We knew it was going to be tough at times. We could have done better in the way we defended as a team.
“Even when the job is done, we came here to try to get a good result. It has to hurt. I’m definitely disappointed.”
