Arne Slot Press Conference: Everton (A)

By Sam French

Arne Slot addressed the media ahead of Sunday’s Merseyside derby with Everton, covering everything from injury setbacks and squad depth to transfer plans and the challenge of maintaining consistency late in the season.

The Liverpool manager confirmed that Hugo Ekitike is still awaiting surgery after rupturing his Achilles tendon in the defeat to Paris St-Germain. As well as missing the rest of the season, the French forward will also miss this summer’s World Cup.

"He hasn’t been operated on yet. It is devastating for him. Coming to a new club and having such an impact straight away, your first thoughts are always with him.”

With the Reds out of the Champions League, Slot acknowledged that the added time on the training ground could help address inconsistency but insisted it comes at a cost.

“We have seen a lot of good performances but also a lot of inconsistent ones. In my mind that is because we have mostly had to play with the same players.”

"It has been shown that a large part of our group is ready to play every three days, but not all of them are able to do that. From that perspective, maybe it is a good thing we are not in Europe anymore, but I would definitely prefer to be playing in Europe."

"In reality, we now have a bit more time on the training ground.”

He pointed to fatigue and rotation issues as contributing factors, referencing frequent disruption in defensive positions.

Despite the midweek defeat, Slot took positives from his side’s display against Paris St-Germain, insisting Liverpool matched, and in his view outperformed, one of Europe’s strongest sides.

“Being the better team against PSG is very complicated. They were very well rested and a lot of my players broke records in terms of physical output. That tells you how strong and how ready they are, and that will be no different on Sunday.”

Slot also provided an update on Alexander Isak, who is edging closer to full fitness after a lengthy spell out.

“It’s nice to have Alex back, although we also know that he is not ready to play 90 minutes yet. We need him, but there are different options. You never know how a game is going to work out.”

Looking ahead to the Merseyside derby, he acknowledged the added edge of facing Everton, particularly with the occasion of playing at a new stadium.

“It’s always a very special game. Maybe you can add one or two percent to it because it’s the first game at the new stadium.”

"The crowd didn’t affect me last season, the refereeing decisions did.”

While he expects a strong atmosphere, he emphasised that the outcome will ultimately be decided on the pitch.

“I think it is not the stadium in itself but the players which make the difference."

Talking about the players, Slot did give a fair reflection of how he would a want a life after Mohamed Salah and Andrew Robertson depart at the end of the season.

“We know Robbo and Mo are going to leave, so that’s two players."

“In the four windows I have been here we have a net spend of £150m,” he said. “There might not be such a big need of trading a lot if you don’t need to bring new players in.”

“This team has shown they can compete with the best in Europe,” he said. “The future looks bright for us.”