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Every word Arne Slot said on Federico Chiesa injury, Bologna and first European night at Anfield

Arne Slot speaking during his press conference ahead of Liverpool's Champions League tie against Bologna
-Credit: (Image: Getty Images)


Arne Slot takes charge of his first European night at Anfield with Liverpool on Wednesday as the Reds take on Bologna in the Champions League.

The Dutchman will be aiming to continue his fine start since taking over from Jurgen Klopp during the summer, having won seven of his eight games in charge so far and led his side to the top of the Premier League. Attentions turn to European matters for now though as Liverpool looks to build on its opening win against AC Milan.

It’s more Italian opposition for Slot and his men, with Bologna heading to Merseyside after proving to be Serie A’s surprise package last season. The Liverpool boss is certainly not taking the challenge for granted, and is relishing his first European outing under the lights of the Reds’ iconic stadium.

Here is everything Slot said during his press conference ahead of tomorrow’s game as he addressed injuries to Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa, and explained why he wasn’t happy with his side during the last 15 minutes against Wolves on Saturday.

On Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa injuries

Diogo missed out on two sessions after the game against Wolves, he took a knock. I’m expecting him to be with us tomorrow and that he’s available to play.

Federico trained with us yesterday, came in today with some problems. I’m not expecting him to be in the team tomorrow, which is a pity for us, but of course for him even more. He was looking forward to a Champions League night at Anfield, and especially because we face an Italian team, it’s a pity for him, but he will be there many more nights.

It's always difficult because it happened yesterday, but I'm not expecting him to be out for a very long period of time, but this game is not possible for him, and we have to wait and see if he can manage to be in the team on Saturday.

What could lead Liverpool further in the Premier League and Champions League this season?

One of the reasons we can compete is because we have a lot of quality, and I also see a lot of team cohesion, so if we score I also see the ones that don't play are really happy with us scoring and us winning, so those are two really positive things.

But I also see things we definitely have to improve if we want to stay where we are with the fixture list that's coming up. Like I said, every fixture is difficult in the Premier League, but everybody tells me that a top league table team is more difficult than a lower league table team, which we can all understand, and we haven't faced one of them yet.

We have to do things better, but one of the reasons why we can stay up there is because we have a lot of players with a lot of individual quality.

Pleased with the players who have come in to cover like Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo?

You picked two now, but I also think about Curtis Jones, about Kostas (Tsimikas), about Joe Gomez, Conor Bradley - and now I think I forget a few so maybe it was smart of me not to name them!

The question just a second ago was why you can compete at the levels we are at the moment, and that is because we have a lot of quality, but also we have a lot of players that can help us.

We're really pleased to see that every time we need a player, he shows up, but again, with the even tougher fixtures coming up, it's something we still have to prove.

Is it hard not picking players with that quality?

It's not hard because they have quality, it's hard because they train hard, work really hard and are involved in the team process. That makes it hard and sometimes you have to make the decision to say 'okay, I choose this eleven and not the other ones'. Not because they have quality - if you didn't have quality, they wouldn't play here.

They all have quality, but if they work real hard, and they make my life really difficult, then it's hard to tell them that they don't play, but it is part of my job and their lives as well. That is you know if you join a top club there's competition, and this is also what they're used to. All of them are handling the situation really well, and that's why I said there's a lot of team cohesion, a lot of good energy in the group, and that's the most important thing when it comes to competition.

Why he was unhappy with the final minutes against Wolves

We haven't conceded anything in the last 15 minutes, hardly in the second half, I think they only had two shots in the whole second half, but in promising situations we lost the ball before it led to a chance, and we lost the ball a few times really easily before it even got to a promising situation.

I think we as a team, if you have that much quality, we cannot accept mediocrity, you have ask from yourself every second of the day, every second of the game, the higher standards that this shirt brings, and we as staff have to set those standards very clearly. Those 15 minutes where we lost the ball so many times in promising positions is may not acceptable.

What he knows about Bologna

I think Bologna showed last season and this season again that they're a real difficult team to beat, because everybody is telling me they only won once - yeah, but I tell them they only lost once. That means it's a difficult team to beat, and we as Liverpool know how difficult it can be to play against a team that's man-marking all over the pitch which is what Bologna does and what Atalanta did here last season.

To face an Italian team at Champions League level, and we know how difficult it was to face an Italian team at Europa League level, so we don't underestimate them at all, because that's not what they deserve for the way they played last season and even this season.

On previously having an interest in Bologna defender Sam Beukema

I was interested, the club I worked for – that included me – was interested in signing him. He had a real good season with the club he got promoted with. We were looking for a centre-back and we saw a lot of potential in him.

Unfortunately for us, he made the choice to go to a different club, and unfortunately for him, he chose the wrong club because Feyenoord did much, much, much better than the club he chose! They’re not going to like this at that club he chose! That was also one of my former clubs, that’s why I made the joke!

But he did really well at AZ Alkmaar and he made a nice transfer to Bologna, where he does really well again. A very good player, looking forward to meeting him and seeing him tomorrow.

On not accepting mediocrity and getting the message to the players

That differs, of course. I don’t lose my temper that much and I don’t think it’s a good idea to lose your temper every single day because then players at a certain moment feel like, ‘Yeah, there he is again screaming at us.’ That doesn’t work, I think it’s better to show them the actual things they do.

The positive thing about this group is that, maybe I don’t accept mediocrity but these players themselves don’t accept it as well. So, even after the game I saw one or two players – maybe a few more even – that were also frustrated, not only about the last 15 minutes but also about the way we started the game. That was also not of the standards I’m expecting from a Liverpool team or from these players.

It’s not only about me, it’s also about the players, that they do not accept these things or these moments as well. And that’s also normal. Now it didn’t lead to a chance but a few times we lost the ball in the last 10 to 15 minutes, I remember a moment where Ibou (Konate) had to block a ball, I remember a moment where Trent (Alexander-Arnold) had to sprint back to save a moment where it could have led to them shooting on goal. So, it’s not only about me not accepting it, the players don’t accept it from themselves as well.

On Alexis Mac Allister saying the players have freedom in the side

It’s nice that he says this because this is also what I’m looking for, that they feel the structure. But if they only feel structure, they could feel like, ‘We have to do exactly what he says all the time.’ Which they have to do when we don’t have the ball. When we don’t have the ball there’s no room for freedom, it’s just hard work and doing what we have to do.

But when we have the ball, especially in the last third of the pitch, then we also rely on the individual quality. We bring them as much as we can in certain positions, which comes from structure, but then it also has a lot to do with the individual quality of the players. And they should feel freedom, even though he might not have it as much as he thinks he has. But it’s good that they feel it that way.

Looking ahead to his first Champions League game at home

Yeah, I got the same question just a second ago and I said I was privileged enough to work at Feyenoord, where Champions League nights last season were also really, really special. People tell me it’s going to be even more special over here tomorrow.

So, what I expect from our players... they have missed out on the Champions League for a year, so when they step out on the pitch tomorrow, I want to see this, I want to feel this, that they feel like, ‘Oh, we missed this for a season and now a club of these standards, we have to be ready.’ And I am hoping and expecting the same from our fans, they have missed out on the Champions League for a season, and I’m hoping they feel this desire to show to Europe again, ‘You missed us because of this.’ That combination should lead to hopefully a very special night for everyone that is involved in Liverpool.

Is the preparation different for a European game?

No, that wouldn’t be a good thing if the preparation would be different than for a normal league game. If we would’ve played an evening game at Anfield we prepare it in the same way, so we also go into the hotel and prepare ourselves in that way. And when it comes to my preparation, or the preparations we have as a staff towards the players, we would send completely the wrong signal towards them if we would place the Champions League above the Premier League.

It’s of equal importance, just as the other games we play in the League Cup and the FA Cup. In the lead-up to that there’s no difference. Again, I am hoping for a special evening when it comes to the fans tomorrow.