Arne Slot points out the 'Achilles heel', Liverpool shoot themselves in the foot in the top 4 race

A 1-2 defeat to Wolves in stoppage time cost Liverpool their chance to break into the top four. Manager Arne Slot admitted the team lacked speed, was too predictable, and didn't have enough composure in decisive moments.

Manager Arne Slot admitted Liverpool are making things difficult for themselves in the top four race following a 1-2 defeat away to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League. The painful loss in the early hours of March 4th saw Liverpool miss their opportunity to force their way into the Champions League spots. The decisive goal came in the fourth minute of stoppage time when Andre's shot took a deflection off Joe Gomez, leaving goalkeeper Alisson helpless. This marks the fifth time this season that 'The Kop' has collapsed in stoppage time, a pattern that clearly reflects their fragility.

Earlier, the visitors thought they had secured a valuable point when Mohamed Salah ended his 11-game Premier League goal drought with an equalizer in the 83rd minute, just five minutes after Rodrigo Gomes opened the scoring for Wolves. However, all that effort became meaningless due to a lapse in concentration at the very end of the match.

"My ambition hasn't changed throughout the season, because I expect more than our current position. This is another setback and with this result, we are absolutely not helping ourselves," Slot stated frankly. The Dutch coach believed Liverpool didn't play terribly, but also conceded they "weren't good enough to win every game like that."

According to Slot, the biggest issue lies in the slowness and predictability of their build-up play. He revealed he had instructed his players to speed up ball circulation from one flank to the other to stretch the opponent's defense. The second half saw more crosses and entries into the penalty area, but the final positioning and finishing lacked sharpness.

Despite his disappointment, Slot refused to blame any individual for the decisive goal. He emphasized it might just have been an unlucky moment as the ball deflected from an opponent's shot. However, consistently conceding from similar situations shows Liverpool cannot keep using "bad luck" as an excuse.

With just nine rounds left in the season, opportunity still exists for the Anfield side. But if they don't quickly improve their focus and composure in decisive moments, Liverpool's top four dream could very well go up in smoke.