Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has reiterated his stance that signing Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk up to new two-year contract extensions is already a good start to the summer. But he also hinted that there should be some freshening up within his ranks.
“It’s already a big summer because we extended Virgil [van Dijk] and Mo [Salah] and for large parts of the season, I don’t think everyone expected that,” Slot told Sky Sports after his side had lost 3-1 against Chelsea.
“For us to keep them is a big thing. I’ve said already that I am happy with the squad we have. We will see what the summer brings, but sometimes it can be good to bring fresh energy.”
“It has already been a good summer, and we won the league,” he added. “Only if we see someone on the market who can improve us.”
Goals from Enzo Fernandez, an own-goal from Jarell Quansah and then a Cole Palmer penalty gave Chelsea the win at Stamford Bridge. Virgil van Dijk scored a header from a corner but Liverpool played like a team that had made six changes to its starting XI, with some players well off the pace.
“It’s always good to see some fringe players playing now with starters,” Slot explained. “Now, to see them playing with the other ones, it gives us insights.
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“They deserve to play these games because they have trained so hard this season. Every time they did so well, so that’s why I think they deserved to play this game.
“We don’t judge them only on this one game. We judge them every day on the training ground and in the moments that they play for us.
“A wise man once said nothing good comes from losing a football game and I have to agree with him. The way we lost is more positive, I think. It was against a great Chelsea team, with a great squad.
“Maybe we missed that little bit that we usually have. We missed a few percentages to get that result.
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“If you look at how we reacted after being 2-0 down, we came back and we never gave up. Our fans didn’t give up. Playing against a good team like Chelsea, you can’t afford a lot and that’s what we saw today.”
Liverpool still has Arsenal, Brighton, and Crystal Palace left to play in the Premier League this season. After the final game of the campaign, Reds captain Van Dijk will lift the trophy, and then there will be a trophy parade the following day.
Liverpool.com says: While little can be learned from this particular game in isolation, there are areas of the Liverpool roster that can be improved. That hasn’t changed even with the title win, but with a 15-point lead at the top, it just shows the high starting point that the Reds will be kicking on from.
