Liverpool boss Arne Slot faces challenge to recover from Man United defeat

LONDON – Arne Slot conceded he has a challenge on his hands to revive Liverpool's faltering form after Manchester United claimed a rare win at Anfield on Sunday to hand the reigning Premier League champions a fourth consecutive defeat.

The Dutchman was left ruing his players' profligacy in front of goal, with Cody Gakpo hitting the woodwork three times and squandering a golden opportunity to equalise again in the dying minutes of the 2-1 loss.

Slot acknowledged the scale of the task ahead. If Liverpool lose to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday, it would be the first time the Reds have lost five in a row since September 1953.

"As a manager, challenges never stop," he said. "Whether it's winning games at the start, stepping into a big club, or succeeding someone like Jurgen Klopp, each phase brings its own test. Now, losing four in a row is another challenge. That's the life of a football manager."

Despite the poor run, Slot insisted confidence within the squad remains intact.

"In every game we've lost, we've created an incredible number of chances in the second half," he added. "If we keep doing that and improve in a few areas, there's every reason to believe we'll start winning again.”

Slot also expressed frustration over Bryan Mbeumo's goal a minute into the game, suggesting play should have been halted due to a head injury sustained by Alexis Mac Allister, who later required four stitches.

"The main thing I should do now is not complain at these kind of things," he said. "We should have done much better after Macca was on the floor, but the healthcare of the players is important.”

Liverpool's troublesome start comes despite the club spending an unprecedented 446 million pounds in the summer transfer window, bolstering their squad with the arrivals of British record signing Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and others.

Gakpo did equalise in the 78th minute, only for United to seal the win with Harry Maguire’s late header.

United boss Ruben Amorim called the victory the biggest win since taking charge 11 months ago, but insisted his team is not getting carried away.

Triumph at Anfield marked his first back-to-back victories with the Red Devils and their first win away to Liverpool in nearly a decade.

“I don’t have many wins with Manchester, so this is really important... I think that was the biggest win in my time at Manchester United,” he said. “It’s back-to-back, it’s at Anfield – that is really important.

“What we need to do is try to win three games in a row and then forget about (finishing) top-four, top-six. We already said that we need to go to Europe. This (win) doesn’t change anything.” REUTERS, AFP