Arne Slot says missing out on injured Alexander Isak for the majority of this season has had a massive impact on why Liverpool have scored a ‘ridiculously low’ amount of goals compared to chances created.
The champions have had a tough title defence in which Champions League qualification is not guaranteed with them going into this weekend sixth in the table.
While Slot has admitted his team have been miles off the pace of champions-elect Arsenal, the Dutchman maintains that small margins such as injuries and missed chances put his team in a false position.
‘The league table has always given a fair reflection of what we’ve done,’ he said. ‘That was the situation last season. So it would not be fair to tell you now that the league table doesn’t give a fair reflection of how we’ve been performing.
‘I do feel if only a few things would have been a bit more normal then we would have had many more points but it’s not realistic for the way we’ve played this season to say that we would have been able to compete with Arsenal. They’ve been much better than us.’
He later added, when asked about missing Isak: ‘I’ve said 150 times in press conferences how many chances we had in the game compared to the other team. Do you think it would have had an impact if we had one of the best goal scorers in this league (Isak) in the last three, four or five years available the whole season?
‘I think it’s safe to say that this would have had a massive impact on our performances, because you also saw this game (where the Reds were on top but conceded to Galatasaray on Tuesday) and almost every game you see how much impact a goal can have on a performance.
‘We were outplaying Galatasaray for 20 minutes… then a goal, and the momentum changed. Goals in a low-scoring sport that is football – because we’re not playing basketball with a game that’s ending up 100 against 98 – are vital.
‘And if you miss out on Alex, the biggest signing we made – we made a few big signings, but the biggest one – that has had a massive impact on us. Take away at every club, look at how many goals we’ve scored this season. That’s ridiculously low for the team, but also for our attackers.
‘Ridiculous, I mean, for the standards usually. I think in the last 10 years of Liverpool, if you look at the forwards, it’s so much more. And of course it has an impact that one of the forwards that we brought in for scoring goals was injured.’
Isak is on course to make a phased return in the next month however Slot has urged caution over the £125million Swedish forward. ‘Again, I have to mess up the party again,’ said Slot. ‘Let’s say (he is back) at the beginning of April, he has been out for three and a half months.
‘He has not trained with the team for (that time). The last time he did that, it took him a while to get up to speed. I am really looking forward to having him back but don’t get the expectations again so high that the minute he is on the pitch, he is at the level of what we spent money on.’
Goalkeeper Alisson, meanwhile, is hoping to return to face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday after missing the midweek game with a minor muscular injury.
