Arne Slot: Liverpool would prefer not to rely on set-pieces for narrow wins

Slot noted that teams have increasingly set up defensively against Liverpool in recent months, forcing his side into tight contests.

He admitted he does not want to rely on luck or set pieces to secure victories, instead targeting a style of play that produces more clear chances from open play.

The statistics underline the challenge. In the first 19 league games of last season, Liverpool scored 85.1% of their goals from open play.

However, that figure fell sharply to 69.2% in the final 19 matches, highlighting their growing struggle to unpick deep defences.

This prompted targeted recruitment over the off-season, with the manager aiming to transform narrow wins into more dominant performances.

"Teams played in a completely different way in the first half of the season against us than they did when we were top of the league," Slot said on Friday.

"We were very happy winning the league, but we didn't shut our eyes for the second part of the season.

"How many times we needed a set-piece to win, which is not something bad because Arsenal and Chelsea are needing a set-piece almost every single game at the moment.

"That's why we also had the window that we had - sometimes to replace, sometimes to add a certain quality.

"And it's up to us to show that we can do better in these kind of games than we did in the second part of last season and the first part of this season."