Arne Slot insists Liverpool can handle the mounting pressure of the Premier League title race after the leaders were hampered by nerves in their tense win against Wolves.
Slot’s side head to Aston Villa on Wednesday knowing a victory would move them 10 points clear of second-placed Arsenal in their bid to clinch a record-equalling 20th English title.
But Liverpool, in dynamic form for much of the season, have looked less secure of late and almost blew a two-goal lead in Sunday’s 2-1 win over lowly Wolves at Anfield.
The Reds had already suffered a costly collapse in the Merseyside derby draw just days earlier when Everton’s James Tarkowski scored a stoppage-time equaliser.
Liverpool’s reserves also crashed out of the FA Cup with an embarrassing fourth-round loss at second-tier Plymouth recently, leading to fears the treble chasers are beginning to crack as expectations increase.
Reds left-back Andrew Robertson admitted after the Wolves game that it was natural for the players to be nervous as they get closer to the finish line.
But Slot pointed to Liverpool’s ability to grind out several wins by a one-goal margin already this season as proof they won’t crumble under pressure.
“It is because we are going to the end of the season, not because of us but what people make of it,” Slot told reporters on Tuesday.
“We have won other games at home or away by one goal when it was also tight. I remember Crystal Palace away when it was tight in the end.
“If this happens at the end of the season you guys are going to talk about nerves.
“To secure a win in the Premier League, if we are winning 1-0, is going to be a lot of defending and hard work.”
– ‘Fight until the end’ –
Arsenal have added to the concern at Anfield with a 15-match unbeaten run in the league since their last top-flight loss at Newcastle on November 2.
Several of Liverpool’s players have title race experience after winning the Premier League in 2020 under Slot’s predecessor Jurgen Klopp.
Slot has also successfully navigated the anxiety of the final weeks of the season in his Dutch title-winning campaign with Feyenoord.
But the Reds boss has mixed feelings about how useful those triumphs will be in helping Liverpool this season.
“We lean a lot on the players. They have to show up and bring the performance. We don’t present a meeting on how to deal with the pressure, that is not how it works,” he said.
“It helps that they are used to playing big games with lots of pressure, but don’t make that too big. We must not over-value experience.
“It is difficult to take experiences from that time with Feyenoord, different players, different opponents, different league.
“And the ones who won the league here in Corona time (during the pandemic) with no fans in the stadium, at one point they were 25 points up, so there was hardly any pressure then.”
Slot knows Villa have the potential to add to the pressure on Liverpool, but he believes their hard-fought success against Wolves will stand them in good stead.
“They have a great home record. When you get the fixture list, Villa away you all know is one of the tougher ones you can face. Very good manager, always has a very good game plan,” he said.
“We didn’t play our best on Sunday but to win gives us a different feeling to the Everton game when we conceded in the last second.
“It tells you that you have a team that fights until the end. These are the games you have to win if you want to achieve something.”
Slot will be without Cody Gakpo and Joe Gomez against Villa, with the latter facing a “number of weeks” out after suffering a hamstring injury.
