If Arne Slot hasn’t realized it yet, he needs to understand quickly that the Anfield crowd expects energy and intensity from their team.
Too often at home this season, Liverpool have lacked the spark that feeds the supporters and the killer instinct to put opponents away after taking the lead.
When they went ahead early against a Chelsea side that had lost their last six Premier League games, Slot’s team should have seized that moment to dominate and secure a vital win. Instead, they allowed the struggling visitors to claw their way back into the match.
“The adjustments we made at halftime helped us become the more dominant side in the second half. We came close twice,” Slot said. “So it’s unfair to say I ever tell my players to drop off and stop pressing. If it looked that way, it was never the intention.”
Enzo Fernandez’s equalizer for Chelsea means Liverpool have now dropped nine points from winning positions in Premier League home games this season—their worst record at Anfield since 2015-16, when Jurgen Klopp replaced Brendan Rodgers as manager.
“Our identity is intensity” was the phrase coined by Pep Lijnders during his time as Klopp’s assistant. Slot’s mandate was always to do things his own way and not try to copy Klopp, but his side has lacked any clear identity this season and shown little intensity.
“I thought Liverpool started quite well, got the goal, and then from there Chelsea were the better team. They caused Liverpool big problems, especially Marc Cucurella running in behind,” said Wayne Rooney on Match of the Day. “The crowd were obviously a bit edgy, which you rarely see from Liverpool fans. That comes from not having the season they hoped for, and after spending a lot of money.”
Loud boos rang out at full-time, even though Liverpool hadn’t lost—a sign that match-going fans are growing frustrated, not just those online.
“That’s probably got something to do with us not winning,” Slot told TNT Sports. “It makes perfect sense that people are disappointed when Liverpool don’t win.”
Midfielder Ryan Gravenberch added: “To be honest, we need them behind us. OK, we didn’t win, but I don’t think we deserved that reaction. The fans have to support us for the full 90 minutes because when they were behind us in the second half, we pressed really well. We need them. Hopefully they won’t do it again in the next two games.”
Asked later in his post-match press conference how the boos felt, Slot struggled to find the right words in English but said: “I would love to show them something else, but at the moment we aren’t able to. We can be a dominant team and have more of the ball. I want to give them much more to be positive and happy about, and I am 100% sure the team feels the same.”
Boos at Anfield as Liverpool draw with Chelsea
‘I am 100% convinced we will be a different team next season’
The loudest jeers came in the 67th minute when Slot substituted Rio Ngumoha, who had been Liverpool’s biggest threat. Slot later clarified that the 17-year-old had cramp.
“It makes perfect sense for people to boo if you take off a player who is playing well and provided an assist. People don’t expect you to do that, and it wasn’t my intention,” Slot said. “He is a good player, but I don’t think he is at a level yet to play at 50% or 60% and still make a difference. I knew the moment…”
