Arne Slot blames a player for Liverpool dropping points

Liverpool's flawless run in the Premier League was broken as Eddie Nketiah netted the decisive goal for Crystal Palace in the 97th minute. Following the game, Coach Slot openly assigned blame to the player who erred in the crucial moment.

According to The Mirror, Coach Arne Slot held Jeremie Frimpong accountable for the late-game error that led to the final goal, causing Liverpool to suffer their first defeat of the season. The Reds' five-match winning streak ended in dramatic fashion.

Crystal Palace deserved the full three points as they dominated early on and took the lead through Ismaila Sarr’s goal from a corner kick. Alisson made several outstanding saves to keep Liverpool in the game, and the visitors seemed set to leave with a point after Federico Chiesa scored following a VAR confirmation that Mohamed Salah did not handle the ball.

However, Palace struck the decisive blow from a long throw-in after Liverpool failed to manage Will Hughes’ headed back pass. Nketiah controlled the ball neatly before shooting through Alisson, causing Selhurst Park to erupt.

Frimpong came on in the 74th minute replacing Ibrahima Konate and made a mistake by getting caught out of position. He lost track of Nketiah, allowing the Palace striker space to fire the winning shot. Slot commented to the media, hinting at Frimpong’s error:

“We can only blame ourselves for such defensive lapses. One of the players pushed forward trying to counterattack, which made no sense as time was almost up; the sole task then was to defend. One player was too focused on attacking at that moment, which led to their goal and our defeat.”

This season, Liverpool have benefited from late goals multiple times, but this time they suffered from one. Slot expressed dissatisfaction that both goals conceded came from set pieces, after Sarr’s opener from a corner:

“If you want to compete, you must be very effective on set pieces. I have said this for years, and in this league it is even more crucial. Last season, this was one of our strongest areas. We hardly conceded from set pieces. Yet against Newcastle, we conceded two goals, and today again two goals — this is something we must improve. This league increasingly revolves around set-piece situations.”

Slot concluded by reiterating the individual error that led to the last-minute goal: “We have to defend many situations like this, and the margin is very thin. In the final moments, one of our players rushed forward with the intention to counterattack and score a second goal, but the ball landed right at a Crystal Palace player in that area, and they scored..”