00:01Liverpool's season in the Premier League has been a study in contrast.
00:05While flashes of attacking brilliance remain, the Champions have increasingly found themselves
00:09in matches that demand grit over flair, where victories are earned through resilience rather
00:15than style.
00:16With the Champions League spots up for grabs, Arne Schlott's side has had to adapt to the
00:21pressures of a campaign that rarely allows breathing space.
00:26This is probably the first time I have to do a different post-match press conference
00:31than I did throughout all these other games, because today we did not play a good game.
00:35Performance was, especially in the first half, not as good as we've had so many times this
00:41season, but we've been on the wrong side of the score after a good performance far too
00:45many times.
00:45And today, I think we got more than we deserved, a draw would have been a fairer result of this
00:53game than for us to win it, but then you think you win it.
00:59Because Hugo already got a big, big, big chance from a great cross from Rio and Gamora.
01:04Misses it, ball comes back, goes into the net.
01:09And since VR is there, I always struggle to celebrate too much if I think there might be
01:16something going on and, yeah, you never know if a ball is hit to a body where it ended up.
01:23In recent weeks, Liverpool have faced defensive-minded teams content to sit deep and frustrate the
01:29Reds' attacking rhythm.
01:30In these contests, traditional patterns of quick transitions and fluid front-line combinations
01:35have often been stifled, forcing Liverpool to play on patience and efficiency rather than attacking flair.
01:44Each ugly victory has chipped away at the gap to the Champions League positions, keeping Liverpool
01:50in contention in a congested top four.
01:53Schlotter stressed that while aesthetic football is preferred, securing points is the non-negotiable priority.
02:00So if we could drop that mentality to the whole pitch, combine to do a few things better on
02:07the ball and maybe not lose every ball you touch, because that was almost what happened.
02:13Then you know that these players can do better and I've tried to give them a bit of energy to
02:18say,
02:19yeah, they've played first day, difficult away game, maybe they run out of energy and we for sure
02:24cannot have run out of energy yet. So maybe that can balance the game more or get the game in
02:30our
02:30advantage. And I've pointed out our second half against City as well, that we are able,
02:36after our first half, that's maybe not of the standards we would like to, we are able to play
02:40a much better second half.
02:42For the Reds, this campaign is less about swagger and more about pragmatism.
02:46If they continue to win the tough, scrappy games, even when style is sacrificed,
02:51they will position themselves for a European return, proving that in football, results often matter
02:56more than beauty.
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