Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has challenged his players to win every game possible, including pre-season friendlies, following their 2-1 victory against Arsenal.
The Reds continued their preparations for the 2024/25 campaign with a narrow triumph against the Gunners in Philadelphia on Wednesday night, with Mohamed Salah and Fabio Carvalho scoring before Kai Havertz pulled one back.
At his post-match press conference, Slot was keen to set the standard for his players, demanding they want to win every match possible, even in training.
“I think even though it’s a friendly, you always want to aim for a win. You should aim for a win even if you have a small-sided game during a training session,” he said.
“You need to win your games, you try to do everything to win. So that’s a good thing that we did that but I’m more pleased about the way we did so.
“Of course I saw the second half that we had a hard time with Arsenal – they dominated possession completely. But we defended really well and I was really pleased to see this because [there were] a lot of bodies behind the ball every time they arrived into our 16. Real big, open chances I don’t think they created in the second half.
“First half, after the first 10 minutes, it was an equal game, where both teams could have scored a few goals more. So, [I’m] pleased to see how we played the first half and how we defended the second half.”
Several of Liverpool’s key players are still on holiday after reaching the latter stages of either Euro 2024 or Copa America, allowing some of the club’s younger stars and academy graduates to feature on their pre-season tour.
When asked if these players had left a lasting impression, Slot replied: “Yeah, it’s impressive. If you see that, like you said, we miss quite a lot of players that have played a lot of minutes for us last season, if you then come up to such a strong team like Arsenal, you’re always curious to see what they can do.
“During half-time we had to add a few more youngsters. In the end of the game I think both teams had a lot of youngsters on the pitch. But it was good to see that all of them worked really hard and I think that’s the first thing you have to do if you want to compete against a team that dominates possession like Arsenal did in the second half.”
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