Arne Slot insisted Liverpool showed why they are champions this afternoon despite a below-par performance in losing 3-1 at Chelsea.
Reds boss Slot made six changes to his side for the trip to Stamford Bridge, giving several fringe players the chance to impress with Liverpool having wrapped up the title following their 5-1 thrashing of Tottenham last weekend.
But they failed to gel and a Cole Palmer-inspired Chelsea cruised to a throughly deserved three points.
Slot reasonably satisfied despite setback
Despite suffering just their third league defeat of the season, Slot felt there were moments of promise from his side.
He told BBC’s Match of the Day: “For many things I didn’t see a drop off. Today, we could see why we have won this league – we brought the ball out from the back really well.
“We came back after being 2-0 down and we didn’t give up, but I have said before margins are small.
“In some moments a few percentages were not there.
“It will always be a difficult game to play here, but for us to play the way we did tells me also why we won the league, but it also tells me if you have a small drop off in the final third you can concede or not score.
“A wise man once said to me ‘nothing good comes from losing a football game’ and that’s how we experience it.”
A Jarell Quansah own goal doubles Chelsea’s lead! 🫣 pic.twitter.com/fLCvzxHs2k
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 4, 2025
Slot backs fringe players
Slot said not too much would be taken from the performances of his squad players, adding: “They deserve to play these games because they have trained so hard this season. Every time they did so well so that’s why I think they deserved to play this game. We don’t judge them only on this game, we judge them every day on the training ground and in the moments that they play for us.”
Slot won the title despite making just one signing last summer, that of Federico Chiesa who has hardly featured.
And the Dutchman admitted he may look to freshen things up before Liverpool attempt to retain their crown next season.
Asked if fans can expect a big summer ahead, he told Sky Sports: “It’s already a big summer because we extended Virgil [van Dijk] and Mo [Salah] and for large parts of the season, I don’t think everyone expected that.
“For us to keep them is a big thing. I’ve said already that I am happy with the squad we have. We will see what the summer brings but sometimes it can be good to bring fresh energy. [But] Only if we see someone on the market who can improve us.”
Happy Maresca praises impressive Chelsea
Chelsea’s win moved them on to 63 points, the same as Newcastle and just one fewer than third-placed Manchester City as the race to secure qualification for the Champions League intensified.
Blues boss Enzo Maresca was delighted with his team’s display.
“I’ve very impressed with my players” 😃
Enzo Maresca reacts after Chelsea’s 3-1 win over Liverpool 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/finTdvIa4a
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 4, 2025
He said: “Very important three points, especially at this stage in the season. This team [Liverpool] showed why they are so good. They forced us to defend deep which we don’t like.
“We planned the game to be aggressive, playing the way we want and they forced us to use a different plan. The players adapted quite well. For the amount of chances that we created, we deserved to win the game.”
As for their top-five aspirations, he added: “For sure, Chelsea has to fight for Champions League and hopefully in the future we can fight for something more important. In this moment we are there and hopefully we can finish there.”
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