Slot on Liverpool learning curve and what’s in for him now

Arne Slot says he is learning more about his Liverpool squad every day as he plots a four-pronged trophy push in his first season in charge.

Liverpool, who face Brighton on Saturday, are just a point behind Premier League leaders Manchester City, have made a flying start in the Champions League and are through to the League Cup quarter-finals. Overall they have won 12 of their 14 games in all competitions, with a solitary defeat.

Slot, who replaced Jurgen Klopp in the Liverpool hot seat, was asked at his pre-match press conference on Friday what he had learned about his squad’s abilities to compete for the four trophies on offer. “You learn every day, especially if you are not as long with the team as I am,” he said.

“Then you learn every day from new situations, and as I said before, the Chelsea game (a 2-1 win) was something I learned from them, that they could sit deep and defend the lead. “The way they came back against Arsenal (a 2-2 draw) was really strong, and the amount of games we have to play and that they are still able to be available and play good football, that is also something you see.”

Slot said his fringe players had shown the impact they could have during Wednesday’s 3-2 win against Brighton in the fourth round of the League Cup. “We will need them during the whole season,” he said. “So it’s good to see that they are already on a level they need to play for us.” Slot said the League Cup, in which Liverpool are defending champions, was important to him even though he made multiple changes.

“Because we’ve played so many games, it was a good moment for the other ones to play, because at that moment I felt they were better able to win that game for us than the ones that have already played so many games,” he said. “Now we’ve won it and you probably tell me, ‘Yeah, you put a lot of emphasis on this cup’. If we would have lost it you would have said, ‘Yeah, if you miss out on so many starters it’s a logical result’.

“We want to win every game, we want to compete for every trophy, especially if it’s one we have to defend, and that is with the Carabao (League) Cup. And the FA Cup is coming in January, so let’s think about it then. But people already told me that it’s a very important cup to win.”

Slot said goalkeeper Alisson Becker, new signing Federico Chiesa and forward Diogo Jota would all be out until after the November international break, with no exact dates for their retun.