Slott: After the match, I joked with TAA, saying I saw that Salah could also play right-back

After leading the team to a 2-1 home victory over Chelsea in the 8th round of the Premier League, Liverpool head coach Slott attended the post-match press conference.



On how happy he is with the victory:
Of course, I'm happy with the result because if you win, you're always satisfied with the outcome. Ideally, we should have completely dominated them, but we certainly didn't do that. In my view, it was a very evenly matched game. There were several phases where we had to defend really hard to avoid conceding, but I'm glad to see that we managed it. I think we all saw some brilliant interceptions from Dominik (Szoboszlai) and Curtis (Jones)—Curtis in the first half, Dominik in the second half. Those moments were just as crucial as our goals. Additionally, the referee had several significant decisions that shaped the game. I think if you weren't a Liverpool or Chelsea fan, you'd have really enjoyed the match today. And in the end, even if you're a Liverpool fan, you'd still be pleased with what you saw today.

On Curtis Jones' performance:
I think we all agree on his performance today—he played a very good game. In my view, controlling Cole Palmer was a tough task; Cole Palmer is a very good player, and he's hard to defend against because he has so many qualities. Curtis did really well today, and in my opinion, he controlled Palmer for most of the game. It's almost impossible to fully contain a player like that for 90 minutes, but he came very close. He even had an impact on the attacking end, scoring a goal and being involved in two penalties, one of which was eventually overturned by VAR. But it shows that he had a big influence on both ends of the pitch.

On whether winning a game like this gives him confidence that the team can stay at the top of the league:
I think it's mainly you guys in the media who have been telling us this was our first major test. I think if you go to Old Trafford and face a strong team like Manchester United, that is certainly a test as well. I think I said in the press conference on Friday not to judge us based on just one week, but to judge us after six, seven, or eight games, or even more. After this victory, I'd still say the same because on Wednesday it's Leipzig, on Sunday it's Arsenal, and then it's Brighton, followed by Leverkusen and Aston Villa. So, in my opinion, this is the biggest test we have in both the Champions League and the Premier League—three consecutive games that are the toughest. That's what Manchester City did last season, and Arsenal too—these two clubs have been doing this for two years now. You saw two years ago how difficult it was for us, and last season you saw how tough it was for Manchester United and Newcastle United to compete in both the Champions League and Premier League at the same time. For me, this is the test we need to go through to see if we can stay in or maintain our current position.

On Salah's performance and influence so far:
The good thing is, usually when someone asks about Salah, it's always about his contract, so it's nice that you're asking about how important he is! He’s crucial to us because of his numbers... After the match, I made a bit of a joke—I told Trent (Alexander-Arnold), "You've got competition now because I saw Salah could play right-back today as well!" I'm just as happy with the defensive effort he put in today as I am with his goal and assist.

On whether this type of victory gives him more confidence for the future:
I have a lot of confidence in this team, but as you saw today, we had some problems after the international break. Conor Bradley was unavailable, and Trent, maybe you didn’t know, didn’t train for the first few days after his return, so there was some uncertainty before the game. Then Alexis Mac Allister was sick. Today, Diogo (Jota) had to be substituted off, and I’m not sure what the situation is, but I’d be surprised if he’s available on Wednesday (against Leipzig). These are things everyone will encounter, and you have to deal with them throughout the season. That's why I always say that winning the league is difficult anywhere in the world because so many things have to go perfectly. Winning our second big match is a good start, but I also saw how difficult it was and how much trouble Chelsea caused us. So, in my view, if I were Chelsea’s coach, I would say if we can play like this at Anfield, we can be one of the teams competing for the top four.