Arne Slot, Dutch head coach of Liverpool, has expressed his “anger and disappointment” after his side lost at home to Manchester City on Sunday evening.
In the Premier League match at Anfield, Liverpool gave up a one-goal lead to lose to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City 2-1 on Sunday 8 February, 2026.
The Reds had gone in front when Dominik Szoboszlai struck a powerful free-kick, but, the visitors hustled and levelled through Bernardo Silva after Erling Haaland had provided.
And, the “best striker in the world”, Haaland, scored the winner for the Cityzens in stoppage time. It was a very crucial win for City as the outcome dragged them six (6) points close to Arsenal, Premier League 2025/26 toppers.
The Dutchman admitted, Manchester City were the “better team” in the first half, however, they were unable to create “that many big chances”; he said, however, the Reds woke up in the second half, and raised their “intensity” in the game.
Slot described the penalty awarded to Manchester City as a “clear decision”. He said, if it were to be his side, he would not hesitate to ask for a penalty, adding, “there is contact, we cannot debate that”.
The Reds boss hailed the referee’s decision of a straight red card for his goalscorer, Szoboszlai, after the Hungarian pulled Haaland’s shirt. The manager, who moved to Anfield in 2024 from Feyenoord, said, “that’s a red card” because Szoboszlai committed a “clear shirt-pull” on the Norwegian.
Haaland’s winner adds more strength to Manchester City’s Premier League 2025/26 title dreams.
According ng to Liverpool official website, at his post-defeat press conference, Slot said:
How he feels after the home loss to Manchester City…
“Yeah, a feeling of anger, a feeling of disappointment, of course. First half, City were the better team on the pitch without creating that many big chances, expect for the one from Haaland in the first minute.
“Second half, our standards went up. Standards in terms of intensity. We were pressing them all over the place and that is the biggest improvement we have made in the last three or four months.”
On the decision to cancel Ryan Cherki’s goal in additional time…
“When you asked me, what do you think about the decision, I thought, what do you mean? Do you mean the disallowed goal at City, the header from us? Do you mean the penalty they got in the away game against us?”
On Dominik Szoboszlai’s red card…
“Dominik makes a foul on Haaland in that last situation, which is a clear shirt-pull and he was through to goal so he would have scored. So that’s a red card.
“I can live with the red card for Dom.”
On the penalty awarded to Manchester City in additional time…
“If it would have happened on the other side I would have asked for a penalty. If I would have got it, I’m not sure. There is contact, we cannot debate that. The ball is out of play, we cannot debate that. When he [Alisson] makes the foul, he [Nunes] can never get the ball anymore. For me, this is a clear decision.”
On the return of Jeremie Frimpong or Joe Gomez for Sunderland on Wednesday…
“Jeremie for sure not. We knew this when he got injured, that it was a few weeks. To be honest, I don’t expect Joe to be back as well, but you never know. But then he is back after being out for three weeks, would you play him then?
“You say no, but you don’t have to make the decision – I have to make the decision. Let’s see what decision we make. We have other players that can play that position.”
What next for Liverpool?
Arne Slot will prep Liverpool for a Premier League showdown against Sunderland on Wednesday 11 February, 2026 at 21:15 (WAT) at the 49,000-capacity Stadium of Light in Sunderland.
