Slot on Liverpool comeback win against Southampton
08/03/2025
Anfield, Liverpool, UK
08/03/2025
Anfield, Liverpool, UK
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00What was your message to the players at half-time?
00:10Were you angry or were you up for that first half?
00:15I didn't give them compliments at half-time, I can tell you.
00:21Phew, maybe it was because I was sitting up there instead of being at the line,
00:27because I know from experience, not that I've been suspended before,
00:30but, yeah, in England I was,
00:33that when you watch a game over there you always feel like,
00:36oh, maybe I can even play in this game.
00:38But if you're at the line it's always more tempo.
00:41But I don't think I was wrong this time if I said at half-time
00:45that energy levels were far, far, far too low.
00:49And that is what had to change, and that's why we made three substitutions,
00:55just to, apart from bringing in quality, also create something.
00:59Because nine out of ten times when you take three out,
01:01the other eight are like, ooh, something else should happen.
01:06And that's the only thing I could come up with at half-time,
01:08to create something different for the second half.
01:14Did you have any consideration to Darvill for the time he was on the other half?
01:23In the end I took him off because he was on yellow,
01:27but I always hate the idea that we need to score goals
01:29to take someone off that can score a goal.
01:32So that's why it wasn't in my mind to take him off,
01:36because I was already planning on, after these three,
01:39if we don't score a goal then Jot needs to come in
01:41and we have to go even more offensive.
01:46So with Kody being out it isn't like we have that many attacking options left,
01:51so that's why I took a certain risk of keeping him on yellow,
01:56and number nine is on yellow, it's a difference than Kosta.
01:59So I took Kosta out for that reason, because he was on yellow.
02:04And second of all, of course, I also knew that Robbo always creates something
02:09with his energy, with his mentality, not only in the team but also with the fans.
02:16And, yeah, there's a reason why Maka is a World Cup winner,
02:19because he always shows up when you need him, in terms of mentality,
02:22and that's also definitely what he brought in the second half.
02:36Yeah, but that's also the life of a number nine,
02:39you go from missing a chance to scoring an important goal
02:41to then all of a sudden missing a chance again.
02:43But I think today, especially in the second half,
02:48you also saw the work rate he can bring to the team.
02:54But the main thing that happened was in the second half,
02:56that we started to play at a different tempo,
02:58not only without the ball but also with the ball.
03:01So I think the first goal, if you look at Lucio, how he takes that one-v-one on,
03:05I don't think I can select a clip where that happened in the first half, not a lot.
03:10And in the second goal, Ryan Graven pushed up all the way at the 18-yard line
03:17to win that ball, which led to the foul on Darwin,
03:20where in the first half, every ball that fell out,
03:22they could just pick up the ball and start to play.
03:26No, the energy in the stadium for the players and by the fans
03:31was completely different in the second half than in the first half.
03:36Hi, I'm from Hungary, one question about Dominic.
03:43Dominic, they play a lot of games now, what is the physical condition of Sobrestein?
03:55You didn't select the right game, because every time I'm sitting here
04:00and I'm talking about Dominic, I'm talking about,
04:02he's a machine, he just can't keep on going, running, running, running.
04:06But it was maybe the first time this season that I saw different energy from him,
04:11which is maybe normal, maybe I made a mistake by playing him,
04:15because he gives so much every single game.
04:18Now, the good thing is he only played 45,
04:23so he's more rested for the upcoming week now than he is when I would have played him for 90.
04:28And the good thing for me is I have more than only one good midfielder in terms of Dominic,
04:34we have quite a few, and Harvey came in really strong and helped the team again,
04:38after him helping the team against Paris Saint-Germain also.
04:43Any concerns looking ahead to Tuesday and next week about the energy levels?
04:52No, because I know these players can come up with completely different energy levels
04:56than they came up with today in the first half.
04:59I think it was maybe the first time this season that I saw this tempo,
05:03maybe it had to do with me sitting high up,
05:05or did you agree with me that the first half was...?
05:08OK, then I saw it correctly. It had nothing to do with me sitting over there.
05:14So, if these people know anything about football, do they?
05:18Yes.
05:22What was the question? Oh, yeah, can they go?
05:24Yeah, I think Paris Saint-Germain showed us the right example,
05:28they played Lille in incredible intensity, 4-0 up at half-time,
05:33and then they played against us, and that intensity I haven't seen before
05:39in a game we played this season.
05:41So, when I look at the game against Paris Saint-Germain we have to go one step up
05:48in terms of intensity, if I compare it with the game today,
05:50we need to go three, four, five, six, seven steps up in terms of intensity
05:54if we want to have any chance of reaching the next round.
05:59Last few, we go one, two, three at the back.
06:01Was it a difficult decision not to start Harvey after his heroics?
06:06It's always a difficult decision not to start Harvey, not to start Wata,
06:11not to start all the other ones that I don't play.
06:15But if someone comes in five minutes, he touches his first ball, scores a goal,
06:19and then changes your whole idea about all the line-ups you made before,
06:23that would be a bit...out of line?
06:26Yeah, you say it differently, and Dutch we say it differently,
06:28but that would be a bit weird as well.
06:31So, yeah, he had a good impact on the game today,
06:33yet again a good impact on the game, that's why he got 45 minutes today as well,
06:38because he did so well in Paris.
06:43But there's also a reason why I played so many times the other ones,
06:46and all the time they deserved that trust.
06:49But today, if I could do it one more time over,
06:52I would have started differently than I started today.
06:54But, yeah, you don't know this in advance.
06:58Can you see Harvey Elliott doing enough to get into starting XI?
07:02His confidence today seemed off the charts, probably after Wednesday.
07:06Can you see him doing enough to get in there?
07:09Would there be enough time for him?
07:12Yeah, there's enough time.
07:13We play nine more games in the Premier League,
07:15and hopefully a few more in the Champions League as well,
07:18with one in the League Cup.
07:19So what it is with him, it is also with other players.
07:22They are in competition with so many good players,
07:25and that makes it sometimes difficult to make a line-up,
07:28but it always helps to bring in performances like this for him.
07:33But also Wata, he came in 15 minutes before the end,
07:35and again he showed how important he is for this team, and the others as well.
07:40So he trains really well, he does this,
07:45I've said it many times about Wata, I can say the same about Harvey,
07:48hardly any playing time, he just keeps on going.
07:50And then when your moment comes, then you can show your quality,
07:54and that's the biggest compliment I can give him,
07:57but also what he brings to the team, that he just kept on going.
08:01Because I've experienced more than enough players
08:04that if they are in the same situation like him or Wata,
08:07they start to do less and less, and when you then play him,
08:10you will probably not ask me why you don't play him.
08:13And this is the situation we want as a team,
08:17and it makes it sometimes difficult for me, that's true.
08:19Last one.
08:20Just to get a talk, have you been on the bench today?
08:24No, otherwise I would have taken him,
08:26because this was the most important game of the week, like I told you,
08:30and the first of three finals.
08:32So if he would have been able, I would definitely have had him on the bench.
08:35But unfortunately he wasn't.
08:37But I do hope the two next finals we play a bit better than the first one.