Dion Fanning: What is holding Liverpool back? Philosophy or pressure?

In the coming weeks, Arne Slot may have to go against his instincts and tap into a wildness that remains a key element of this side put together by Jurgen Klopp.

CRUNCH TIME: Liverpool manager Arne Slot gestures after the Premier League match at Villa Park. Pic: Nick Potts/PA Wire.

WHEN Arne Slot was asked before Liverpool’s game against Aston Villa if his side’s experience would help handle the pressure of a run-in, his answer was curious.

“It helps if a player or a team already won something but I don’t make that too big because you still have to play for it. You can’t compare circumstances,” he said. “The ones who won the league in corona time, without our fans in the stadium, they were 25 points ahead. So you can hardly talk about pressure then.”