Liverpool manager Arne Slot has said there is no reason for his Reds side tobe complacent after their defeat to Fulham on Sunday.
Despite taking a 14th minute lead through Alexis Mac Allister, Fulham hit back through goals from Ryan Sessegnon, Alex Iwobi and Rodrigo Muniz.
Luis Diaz pulled a goal back for the Reds but the Cottagers hekd on to seal the three points.
The defeat leaves Liverpool 11 points ahead of second-placed Arsenal who were held to a 1-1 draw with Everton.
Speaking after the defeat Slot said in his post-match presser:”I think there is no reason for us to be complacent. We are not No.1 at the moment because we win every game with a margin of three or four goals. I think everyone that has seen our games [knows] it takes us so much effort, so much hard work to win games of football, combined with quality of course. The team that won the league in the last four seasons were already 3-0 up at half-time almost every single game they played.
“That’s not the way it is for us, so we are fully aware of the fact we have to compete for seven more games. We saw it on Wednesday when we played Everton, it was a close call. Today it was a close call and many times we’ve been on the right side. Today we were on the wrong side, mainly because of the errors we made.”
Asked if the errors disappointed Slot, he replied: “Yes, of course, but not only me – the players themselves, the teammates, the fans. But one of the reasons why we are in the position we are in is we don’t make a lot of mistakes and if we do players try to make up for them. Now, this is also what we tried to do with the second goal but, unfortunately, instead of the ball being deflected [and] going behind, it went into the goal.
“This can happen, especially if you play a good team like Fulham. If you make mistakes, they have the quality to punish us. I think in the end [in the] second half we created so many chances that we could have made up for it. But we lacked time, especially in the end, because in the first 20 minutes of the second half it didn’t feel to me as if we could score a goal. But in the last 20 to 25 minutes, I think it was clear for everyone that we could score the third. That’s why actual playing time wasn’t the most in the last 25 minutes.”
