Arne Slot reaction — Liverpool ‘under full pressure’ for Week 38 after failing to seal Champions League spot

Liverpool got a pair of goals from Virgil van Dijk but watched as Aston Villa scored four times to leapfrog them on the table and secure Champions League football ahead of them.

MORE — Aston Villa v Liverpool recap, video highlights

Arne Slot’s Reds are still in good position to reach the UCL via a top-five place, but a win would’ve been enough on Friday and Liverpool never really looked like that was in the cards.

So how did the underfire Slot see it ahead of a huge final week game at Anfield?

Arne Slot reaction — Liverpool ‘under full pressure’ for Week 38 after failing to seal Champions League spot

Things fell apart after unfortunate third goal? “That was definitely unfortunate if you want to call it that. It was a moment we were in a good moment. Similar in the first half because it came in a spell where we played acceptable. When you concede at 2-1 in the way we did, it led to a well-deserved win to them.”

You had control of game but it slipped away? “We had control over large parts of the game but not after the 2-1 anymore. That’s also why they scored a 3-1 although it was from a set piece not open play. There was a part of the game where we defnitely struggled with their pace, quality, and intensity.”

Defending has been the problem this season: “We’ve conceded far too many goals but we also didn’t score too many goals although two away at Villa Park is not too bad. But we conceded four and three out of four from set pieces and that’s too much.”

Why did the players fail to cope with the intensity? “You’re referring to the period we struggled after 2-1 but overall I don’t think the players deserve what you’re saying. They did cope to this difficult away game. They were fully in the game but I agree with you after the 2-1 we crumbled.”

“That’s not for the first time. When we are the better team we struggle to find that goal mainly because we do not create big enough chances. And when we have a period of time where we are struggling or the other team is better than us, we tend to concede too easy, After this game I wouldn’t be surprised”

Now you must feel real pressure to make the UCL: “We are under full pressure although it feels we have been under full pressure the whole season. The only thing we can do now is make a very good week and be very well prepared. As always we are hoping that our fans will be fully behind us because you could see tonight how important it is — as we’ve seen at Anfield — what it means to be all together.”

Rio Ngumoha a bright spot? “He was a big threat off the left. That’s so important for a team that has ball possession and trying to score. You need players like him to create something for you and he did that a few times today.”