Missed chances, injuries, VAR - Are Slot's complaints after CL exit fair?

Q: What did Arne Slot say about Liverpool's performance against Paris St-Germain?

Arne Slot criticized Liverpool's lack of clinical finishing, stating they failed to score despite creating 1.92 Expected Goals (xG) in the match.

Q: How has Liverpool's scoring issue affected their season?

Liverpool has consistently underperformed in converting chances, which has been a recurring theme throughout the season.

Q: What are Expected Goals (xG) and why are they important in football?

Expected Goals (xG) is a metric that estimates the likelihood of a goal being scored from a particular shot, helping to analyze a team's finishing efficiency.

Q: What were the consequences of Liverpool's Champions League exit?

Liverpool's exit from the Champions League marks a significant setback for the team, raising questions about their performance and future in the competition.

We take a look at Arne Slot's post-match news conference after Liverpool's Champions League exit to Paris St-Germain to see how the Dutchman's reasoning for the Reds' struggles this season stacks up...

Missed chances

Arne Slot has been rueing Liverpool's lack of a clinical edge in the final third all season and after notching 1.92 Expected Goals (xG) against the European champions but failing to find the net at Anfield, it was no surprise it was on his agenda post-match.

"Unfortunately, it's one of the many examples of this season where we weren't able to score from the many chances we had," he said. "Again, we were so far underperforming in terms of xG and that is just an ongoing thing with us throughout the whole season."

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Vinny O'Connor reports from Anfield after Liverpool fell to a 2-0 defeat to PSG (4-0 on aggregate), putting an end to their Champions League campaign.

It's certainly true in the Champions League. Liverpool went into Tuesday's game having scored 24 goals from 27.8xG, the biggest underperformance among the quarter-finalists.

But the xG conversion-rate picture in the Premier League isn't so damning. In fact, Liverpool's goals total is just 0.65 below their xG total. While that is some way off teams such as Arsenal (+7) and Man City (+5.45), there are nine teams who have a worse differential than Liverpool.

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But it is perhaps the big chances missed which stick out in Slot's mind. There were two against PSG and only Aston Villa have a worse conversion rate of Opta-defined big chances in the Premier League this season.

Liverpool have missed 59 of 86 clear-cut openings in the top flight.

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Curtis Jones, Florian Wirtz and Alexis Mac Allister rank among the Liverpool players with the biggest underperformance of their individual xG totals.

But Mohamed Salah missing 11 of 14 big chances and Virgil van Dijk converting just one of his eight clear-cut openings has clearly been costly in the league.

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Injuries

Of course, Alexander Isak was supposed to come in and post a big goals total for Liverpool this season after his £125m signing from Newcastle. But the Swede has struggled with injuries all season, including a broken leg which sidelined him in December. Tuesday was his first start back after recovering from that.

The plan at the start of the season was for Isak and fellow summer signings Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike to combine in a new-look £320m attack. But Ekitike's worrying injury against PSG added to Liverpool's frustrating night, and Slot pointed out how he hasn't had a chance to use those three big names together often enough.

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Liverpool boss Arne Slot provide an update on Hugo Ekitike's injury after he was stretchered off during their Champions League match against PSG.

"For 88 minutes [before Tuesday] we have played with Florian [Wirtz], Alex and Hugo. We added about 27 to that [on Tuesday] and I would be surprised if we add more minutes to that this season," he said.

On Ekitike's injury, he added: "Losing a game is hard but again losing a player is something we've had many times this season."

First-choice keeper Alisson has also missed game time with hamstring problems, Conor Bradley has had knee surgery, Giovanni Leoni's ACL injury put a strain on centre-back depth, while Jeremie Frimpong, Wataru Endo and Joe Gomez have also been out for significant spells.

Match officials

Another persistent complaint from Slot this season has been the frequency with which decisions made by the officials have gone against his side.

There was a controversial call on Tuesday, with VAR overturning a penalty awarded to Mac Allister.

Image: Liverpool were initially awarded a penalty for Pacho's challenge on Mac Allister

Slot said: "...another intervention of the VAR which was not in our favour and that is not for the first time this season."

He went on to reference a Brentford penalty awarded after a VAR check when Van Dijk caught Dango Ouattara and a Leeds penalty awarded after the referee was sent to look at the monitor by VAR when Konate fouled Wilfried Gnonto.

Image: PSG players argue against the decision to award Liverpool a penalty

Asked about his reaction to the penalty award against PSG being overturned, he responded: "If you look at our season, I'm not surprised as so many decisions have gone against us this season."

Slot did note that Liverpool were fortunate with a couple of decisions in Paris in the first leg, with a PSG penalty overturned after Konate challenged Warren Zaire-Emery, and the defender then escaped punishment for a push in the box on Nuno Mendes.

However, after a campaign which has also seen his side have a Van Dijk header controversially ruled out for offside at Man City and Man Utd score when Mac Allister was down with a head injury, Slot has again made his frustration with the officials clear.

A bright future

Liverpool's Champions League exit to PSG, despite an improved second-leg performance, means they are set to have a trophyless season after their Premier League title win last term.

That puts the pressure on Slot securing a top-five finish in the league to secure a Champions League place for next season. "Arne Slot needs to qualify for the Champions League to keep his job," said Sky Sports pundit Tim Sherwood.

The Dutchman, however, has remained optimistic throughout the season that Liverpool will step up again next year and in the years to come, given the quality of young players they have brought in.

"The future looks very bright for this team, because we've shown that we can compete with the champions of Europe in our stadium, to be the dominant team," he reiterated again on Tuesday.

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Rio Ngumoha scores his first goal at Anfield for Liverpool vs Fulham.

Teenager Rio Ngumoha scores his first Anfield goal in Liverpool's Premier League clash with Fulham.

Ryan Gravenberch (aged 23), Ekitike (23), Wirtz (22), Bradley (22) and Milos Kerkez (22) have their best years ahead of them, while the potential of 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha holds plenty of promise.

But Slot and Liverpool need results in the final six games of this Premier League campaign to capitalise on that potential next season as a Champions League club.

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