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Arne Slot admits Liverpool are out of the Premier League title race and are instead focusing on Champions League qualification.
The reigning Premier League champions are fourth and 14 points behind leaders Arsenal ahead of Thursday’s match at the Emirates. live on Sky Sports.
Liverpool are unbeaten in eight Premier League matches, but Slot knows it will take something special for his side to retain their crown.
“It’s never nice to say that the title race is over, because you never know what can happen in football,” Slot said in an exclusive interview with Aerial sports. “But the last thing we should be talking about right now is the title race.
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Gary Neville believes Arsenal will win the Premier League title, after Chelsea held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium.
“We know our position in the league makes it very difficult to compete with Arsenal for the league title.
“Our first goal now is to finish in the top four or five to qualify for the Champions League. And all the other things we can still play for, for the Champions League, for the FA Cup.
“And if something happens that no one expected and has probably never happened before, then we try to make sure we are ready for that. But I don’t go to Arsenal thinking about the title race. We go to Arsenal thinking about winning a football match against a very strong team.”
Asked if a drop in intensity from his team was the reason for Liverpool’s disappointing season, Slot admitted: “Yes and no, that’s a fair comment.”
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But Slot insists that sometimes Liverpool’s apparent lack of intensity is more down to the opposition and the way they prepared to nullify his team.
Slot added: “Over the last nine games, people would probably tell me, and I would completely agree with them, that Villa and Brighton were the most enjoyable games to watch. And I would like those people who have their opinion to see how Villa and Brighton played, and how all the other teams we played against played us.
“It’s not like I want us to play the same way we played in other games. But maybe that’s the next step we need to take, that we don’t rely on what the opposition does, we’re just good enough to always implement a fast style, but we’re not there.”
Despite admitting some of the things Liverpool have done this season have been “so bad”, Slot remains optimistic for the second half of the campaign.
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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta speaks ahead of their match against Liverpool
“If things click and that happens, then this group of players is capable of much more than what the results are currently telling us,” he said.
“We showed that we can beat a lot of teams if everyone is available. We beat Arsenal at home, we beat Villa, Real Madrid, Inter Milan.
“But we also showed that we haven’t had the consistency to win other games and make the standings look a little better. But if everyone is available, it’s a very talented and good group and we can win against everyone.”
With the January transfer window now open, Liverpool have the chance to add to Slot’s squad. They failed to sign Crystal Palace and England defender Marc Guehi this summer and now face competition from rivals Manchester City.
Slot said: “I certainly won’t make the mistake of talking about a player who has been linked to another club and giving my opinion on it. I can talk for hours about our players, but not about players from other clubs. The focus is once again solely on the football side.”
