Liverpool's coach Arne Slot appeared in press statements after the loss against Chelsea 2-1 in the seventh round of the Premier League.

He said: "I think two excellent teams were on the field today. In the first half, unfortunately for us, the only chance they had went straight into the top corner. We created three clear chances through Kirkes, Szoboszlai, and Isak with a header, and I feel the match was balanced. In the second half, we started brilliantly, and it was not surprising that we equalized. In the last 15 minutes, the match turned into an open contest, chances for us and chances for them, and in the end, we conceded a last-minute goal."

Regarding the recent negative results: "First, we must consider the strength of the opponents we faced. Last season we also lost to Chelsea, and Stamford Bridge is always a tough place. We were very close to getting a result. Things are decided by small margins. As I said after the Galatasaray match, we had a clear chance, then they got a penalty. Against Crystal Palace, we conceded a goal very late, and today they scored a goal that could have happened in any goal."

About the defensive changes: "Most of the time when I make changes in the full-backs, the reason is that they received yellow cards, and you wonder if it's wise to keep them on the field. We needed Florian Wirtz to come into the match. Milos (Kirkes) looked more and more fatigued, having played 90 minutes in two consecutive matches, and this was his third match, which he is not used to. It was clear that it was becoming more difficult for him. Their wings were a real threat."

He concluded about the substitution of Konate: "He felt some pain in the quadriceps, and then the alarm bells rang for me. If the match had continued in the same pattern, I would have made the change later, but I didn't want to take the risk. It was not a coincidence that when Ryan (Gravenberch) started playing in that position, we began to improve and get more into the flow of the match."