Liverpool’s unbeaten start to the Premier League season came crashing down at Selhurst Park, and Arne Slot did not hold back in his post-match reaction.
After Crystal Palace snatched a dramatic 97th-minute winner in their 2-1 victory, the Reds’ boss unleashed a fiery criticism of one of his own players, describing the performance as “selfish football” and insisting it was the opposite of what he expects from his team.
The Dutchman’s frustration boiled over as he recounted the fateful moment when Liverpool squandered possession in stoppage time. With his side pushing for a winner, a risky decision on the edge of Palace’s box backfired, leading directly to Eddie Nketiah’s match-winning strike.
“What we saw in that moment is not the kind of football any coach, or any team, wants,” Slot said sharply, his anger clear. “At that stage of the game, you don’t play for yourself. You don’t take unnecessary risks. Football is about mentality, about the team – and today, we lacked that.”
For Liverpool, the defeat ends a run of eight consecutive league wins and highlights deeper concerns. Palace, drilled and disciplined under Oliver Glasner, exploited lapses in concentration, with Marc Guehi’s first-half header setting the tone before Nketiah’s late dagger settled the contest.
Liverpool’s equalizer from Luis Díaz had briefly raised hopes of another trademark comeback, but defensive errors and poor decision-making left Slot furious. Social media erupted with criticism, while pundits echoed the manager’s stance, calling the late mistake “a moment of ego over discipline.”
The loss keeps Liverpool level on points with Arsenal but underlines the fine margins of a title race where one lapse can prove costly. Slot summed it up bluntly:
“Today, we weren’t the mentality monsters we need to be. That has to change.”
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