Arne Slot confirmed true colors with elegant Xabi Alonso contact after Liverpool reunion
Arne Slot had a heart-to-heart with Xabi Alonso after the ex-Liverpool ace’s Bayer Leverkusen were thrashed 4-0 at Anfield.
The German champs managed to keep Liverpool at bay for just over-an-hour before the floodgates opened, with Luis Diaz bagging a hat-trick and Cody Gakpo netting his fourth in a week, leaving Alonso gutted.
Despite the heavy defeat, Alonso, who lifted the Champions League trophy with Liverpool in 2005, was still serenaded by the Kop late on. The loss marked only the third for Leverkusen in their last 69 games with Alonso at the helm, yet he showed class in his post-match reaction.
Following Slot’s interview with Amazon Prime Video, he encountered Alonso, leading to a deep conversation. Alonso took the loss on the chin, saying, “It can happen that you come to Anfield and lose.
“To lose 4-0 is not nice. They are a top, top team and they punished us. It was a pity we couldn’t hold 1-0 for 15 to 20 minutes. They did it against Brighton, they did it against us.
(Image: Amazon Prime Video)
“We were ready to come here and give our best. We did okay for some part but the game changed in 20 minutes. Liverpool are strong. We lacked some power and consistency. Defeat, accept it, congratulate Liverpool and move on.”
Arne Slot said: “I will try to separate the game and the pain from the result to the feelings of coming back and having love. I’m really thankful to have that reception,” reports the Mirror.
“It’s early to tell but I can see that Liverpool have a very good balance, a very complete team. They work the 11 players and they have the power to hold a clean sheet which is important in the Champions League. In the Premier League, let’s see. It’s early to tell but it’s looking good.
(Image: Jörg Schüler/Bayer 04 Leverkusen via Getty Images)
“I don’t know if it was that much to do with intensity but we took more risk. They overloaded the midfield a lot and we adjusted a half-tine and took the risk to play one-vs-one all over. We had better chances in the first half and they weren’t a goal threat.”
He also praised the goal, saying: “As much as this time, how good they are in Europe, sometimes a strong target man is better than someone a bit faster. Curtis Jones did an incredible pass and then you have someone with the pace of Lucho to finish it off. The pass was as good as the goal in my opinion.”
