Copyright GIVEMESPORT
Arne Slot's recent rant about things he's not particularly fond of in football has caused a stir ahead of Liverpool's upcoming match against Manchester City on Sunday. The Reds travel to the Etihad for a crunch match between the two potential Premier League title contenders. The Merseysiders had been in a rough patch of form, losing league matches against Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Manchester United and Brentford. Pressure was seemingly starting to mount on Slot, who was labelled "shameless" for his comments following their Carabao Cup elimination at the hands of Palace. Any concerns seem to have alleviated within the last week, following much-needed victories in both the Premier League and Champions League. Liverpool beat Aston Villa 2-0 to collect their first three points in weeks, before putting in a fantastic display to beat Real Madrid in Europe. They now face a stern test in the form of City, who sit just one point above Liverpool in second place. But in an interview ahead of the game, Slot ranted about "things I don't like" about football, giving rise to further controversy online. Speaking to Sky Sports, Slot was asked about his counterpart, Pep Guardiola, who is set to take charge of his 1,000th match in football as a manager. And while the Dutch coach was incredibly complimentary about the Man City boss, he used the question as an opportunity to lash out at some of the tactics used in football presently. "You're always looking forward to watching his team [Guardiola's] play," he said. "When you are analysing every opponent, it's always nice when you play against his teams because then you have the privilege to watch five, six, seven games of his team and you never get bored. "At least I never get bored because his team always have a very good and clear idea in ball possession, they always try to make the people happy. It's a joy to watch where so many other games are not, in my opinion, a joy to watch anymore. "It's become more [about] time-wasting and things I don't like that much about the game, but which are very good tools to use to make it difficult for other teams if they play against you. It's a new tactic in football, I would say, but this is something Pep's teams hardly do." He continued: "The Barcelona team was unbelievable. Hoping they would play on a Sunday night at 8pm, so there was one thing to look forward to at the end of the weekend. "Then when he went to his other teams, he also invented new things like the inverted full-back. It's always something special if you watch a game on one of his teams. lot of managers win, but in the style he has won his trophies, that is why he stands out compared to many others." Although Slot was largely trying to complement the style of football Guardiola has deployed during his career, football fans haven't been impressed with the Dutchman's words. Many believe he is simply making excuses for Liverpool's recent poor results. "What a cry baby," one supporter wrote. Another said, "He’s such a whine bag. Gosh, the excuses just don’t stop. Concentrate on winning games, and not on making new excuses up every week." That sentiment was echoed by many others, with one adding, "Worst excuses I have seen in a while." Similarly, a separate fan said, "All this guy does is whinge."
