Liverpool manager Arne Slot expressed his disappointment following the Reds' 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Premier League matchday 25, a game they had been leading 1-0.
"In the first half, Manchester City were the better team, without creating many clear-cut chances, but they had more possession in our half. In the second half, we dominated and had some good spells. We went 1-0 up and gave them almost nothing. Then, just before the end, a deflected cross reaches them, and it's 1-1. We tried to prevent it, and they won the first header. Good anticipation from Bernardo Silva and a good finish. We're almost used to conceding goals in stoppage time; it happened again today," the Dutchman analyzed.
The end of the match was marked by Cherki's goal from outside the box, which was disallowed after a VAR review due to a tussle between Haaland and Szoboszlai, culminating in the Hungarian's sending off. That incident didn't concern Slot as much, who stated that "if that's the rule, you have to accept it." Instead, he chose to focus on the moment in the 69th minute when Marc Guéhi received a yellow card for preventing Salah from entering the box. For the manager, this incident warranted a red card: "He was one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Anyone in the stadium knew that, for the last seven or eight years, that's a goal for Salah. Once again, the referee decided against us. They have to do their job."
Despite the result, there were positives. "We pressed very high in the second half and played good football. We can't compare this game to one from three or four months ago. We've improved a lot, but we need to improve our results. There have been so many times this year where we didn't get what we deserved, and it happened again today," he concluded.