Slot claims '20 percent penalty' as Liverpool get 'out-smarted' by Galatasaray
Liverpool manager Arne Slot expressed his disappointment after the 1-0 Champions League defeat to Galatasaray, claiming his side was "out-smarted" by the Turkish team's tactical use of gamesmanship. Slot praised his team's first-half performance but admitted they lacked the savvy to handle the opposition's tactics, particularly regarding the penalty that decided the match.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot didn't mince words after his side's disappointing 1-0 loss to Galatasaray, stating that the Reds were "sometimes a bit out-smarted" in the crucial moments of the match. Speaking to Amazon Prime, Slot differentiated the performance from their recent domestic struggles but still expressed disappointment with the result, which was decided by a first-half penalty.
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The manager pinpointed a lack of European savvy as a key factor in the defeat, specifically referencing the penalty incident where Dominik Szoboszlai fouled Barış Alper Yılmaz. Slot defended his player but criticized the way Galatasaray amplified the situation.
"We are sometimes a bit out-smarted in situations like this and I cannot blame Dominik Szoboszlai for the situation," Slot explained. "They make a 20% penalty a 100% penalty, which is very smart from them."
This gamesmanship, according to Slot, was pervasive throughout the second half, which he felt lacked flow. "I don't think in the second half there was a lot of playing time, their striker was on the floor four or five times," he said, citing the lack of momentum that plagued his side's efforts to equalize.
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Small margins and tough schedule
Despite the loss, Slot insisted that the team isn't far from the level they showed last season. He acknowledged the difficulty of the European schedule, noting the challenge of following up a difficult match with an away game against Chelsea.
"The margins are small and they were last season. For the second time in a row we are on the wrong side," Slot concluded, recognizing that the team needs to quickly find a way to convert good performances into results, starting with their next crucial fixture.
