Arne Slot insists Liverpool can have no excuses for a difficult first half of their Premier League title defence but is determined to finish 2025 strongly, starting with Saturday’s visit of bottom-placed Wolves to Anfield.
The champions begin the weekend 10 points off the pace, with six defeats already this season, all coming during a poor run between late September and November.
However, Liverpool are unbeaten in six matches in all competitions and have climbed to fifth in the table, even as Slot acknowledges significant improvement is still required heading into 2026.
“For me we are in the position we deserve after the first half of the season,” Arne Slot said. “I think we should be higher, let that be clear, I was expecting and hoping for us to be even higher in the league table.
“But even in the last six games the difference between us and the other team is constantly too small.
“Now we have been a few times a little bit lucky with the result and we need to find a situation where we are so much better than the other team that luck or bad luck does not influence it anymore. I think the games we have lost were unlucky.
“The referees and set-pieces have had an incredible impact on the start of our season, but we should not have that as an excuse.
“That is luck or bad luck. There is always a decision that can go against you or in favour of you.
“That should not lead to us dropping points. We need to make sure like last season when a lot of decisions went against us as well but it didn’t hurt us.”
Slot added: “I have said many times players are getting fitter and fitter, not only the ones we have brought in but also the ones who missed out in pre-season and were a lot of time injured. They are getting used to each other.
“I still think that the best is still to come for this team which I think we all agree on and are hoping for.
“That is completely normal if you just look at what has happened in the first half-year then I am not so surprised where we are.”
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