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The Reds head coach discusses the importance of controlling away matches and minimizing opposition fan influence as they prepare for a challenging game against Crystal Palace. The team finished significantly behind Manchester City last season and sees room for improvement in their away performances.
Slot said, “If you look at the home form of both teams, it’s the same. I think there are areas we have to improve and that is why it is so important to take control over every game, not only the home games but the away ones too. Just to be very dominant in away games is why I wasn’t very happy with the first 20 minutes at Wolves.”
He emphasizes the difference between home and away games, noting the impact of opposing fans. The objective is to maintain dominance, especially in away games, while leveraging the support of Liverpool’s own fans at home.
Slot continued, “I think the home and away games of Liverpool are quite similar but in general, it is tougher to play away because the home fans cheer very hard if their team gets a chance, they get more confidence from that. You play against the same players [as you do at home] but they get more confidence from the fans which makes it a bit more difficult to win an away game. But there were also many home games that were quite tight and maybe then our fans made the difference.”
He discusses the tactical focus required to stifle home crowd excitement by minimizing simple mistakes and preventing opponent opportunities, acknowledging the difficulty posed by teams like Crystal Palace.
Slot added, “It’s so important [to keep home crowds quiet]. Don’t lose a simple ball, don’t give away a corner kick, don’t get a cross in, don’t give them anything that they can cheer for. I’ve seen a lot of games of Palace and it is probably impossible for a lot of teams not to get a chance.”
Slot reflects on the importance of maintaining control throughout a match to hush the crowd and avoid giving them moments to celebrate.
Slot said, “Every team does concede chances and that has to do with the amount of quality every team has in the Premier League, but keeping them away from our goal as much as possible is the smartest thing to do. I think it is important to control a game. It is also important to create chances. There are two ways to keep the crowd quiet and that is creating chances yourself, forcing them to make mistakes or press them really high and force them to make mistakes.”
Slot outlines the overall strategy for away games, advocating for both possession and proactive play as means to suppress the opposition’s home advantage.
He further explained, “That’s what no crowd likes to see. The other way is for us having the ball for longer periods of time because then they cannot create anything. There are more ways. It is not only keeping the ball. That’s of no sake, only keeping the ball. We have to create, we have to press really well and so there are more ways than keeping the ball to keep the crowd quiet. That’s the extra challenge you have as a top club, that fans of the opponent are likely they will support them longer than they would against a lower league table team.”
