It’s Arne Slot’s world, and we’re all living in it. Liverpool FC beat Real Madrid 2-0 at Anfield in emphatic fashion, exorcising many demons of the past in the process. The Reds pinned Real Madrid in their own half for much of the game, and whenever they did manage to venture into Liverpool’s half, they were quickly swallowed up by the Reds’ robust rearguard.
After the game, head coach Arne Slot had special praise to give and also spoke on our goalkeeping situation:
[on Kelleher’s display and Alisson Becker’s impending return]
I think every decision I have to make is a difficult one, because we have so many quality players. I’ve been clear about that situation but tonight shouldn’t be about that, it should be about Caoimh being so important for us. It was a big moment for him also I think; if you see Mbappe behind the ball, I thought probably what everybody thought – and what everybody also thought when Mo stepped up – ‘This ball is probably going to go in’. And he saved it, so it was a big moment for him, a special moment for him. So, let that be the headlines and not the other thing I was quite clear about one or two weeks ago.
[on Conor Bradley’s all-action display]
I think it’s nice for him, nice for his family, nice for us but it’s also very nice for the Academy, that a player that comes through the ranks at the Academy does so well. And not only him – Caoimh was outstanding today, Curtis [Jones] was outstanding today. Probably all of them were outstanding but to have three Academy players in your team doing so well is also a big compliment for the Academy this club has. And Conor did very well. But I’m totally not surprised by him doing so well because he showed this already last season and showed this in this season in training sessions and in games as well. So, very nice for him.
[on Ryan Gravenberch’s midfield mastery]
I agree with you he played a very good game, which was not that easy because he conceded a yellow card already quite early in the game. But he is so comfortable on the ball, and we like to have possession a lot and if you have possession a lot it’s always useful to have players that are so comfortable and dominant on the ball. And he brings, together with our last line, the ball towards the players that can hurt every opposition. That’s what makes him special, together with his running capacity – he just keeps on running. And he, like all the others, also profits from the team performance, because I’ve said it many times, the team performance makes the individual performance and not the opposite way around.
Flashback to last month, Liverpool were flying, but “they hadn’t played anyone” yet. Nine games later, Liverpool have been near perfect and now await the visit of Manchester City on Sunday.
