Liverpool Echo

The pundits have been having their say on Arne Slot after fresh questions were asked of Liverpool's Premier League title-winning boss following the 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday

After boos rang out at Anfield following Liverpool’s disappointing 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, speculation has grown surrounding the future of head coach Arne Slot, who led the Reds to their 20th league title last year.

While Slot appears to retain the backing of the ownership, pundits have had their say after the draw with the Premier League’s most out-of-form side left his team two points outside the top four.

Jamie Carragher said there was a “big shift” in the Anfield crowd’s attitude towards their manager at the weekend.

Talking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, the Liverpool great said: “The booing at the end, that was proper booing. That was a really unhappy and disgruntled fanbase and I think it is going to be very difficult to get them back.

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“Once you lose that crowd, it is very difficult.”

After Manchester United beat Aston Villa earlier on in the day, a win for the Reds would’ve seen them return to the top four. Instead, another poor result has put their hopes of Champions League qualification in further jeopardy.

Former Everton and Man United striker Wayne Rooney said on his BBC show: "I don’t know what the board’s objectives were at the start of the season, but obviously as champions, he [Slot] would be expected to finish in the Champions League spots.

"I think there will be conversations if he doesn’t and see what happens from there. Liverpool have been inconsistent this season. There have been many new signings, but other players are not playing as well as in previous seasons.”

The Reds face Galatasaray at Anfield in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie tomorrow (Wednesday), looking to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit.

After Saturday's Premier League trip to Brighton & Hove Albion, they have a FA Cup quarter-final clash with Manchester City at the Etihad after the international break.

And Kop legend Robbie Fowler thinks winning a trophy this season is a necessity for the defending Premier League champions.

Speaking on Premier League Productions, he said: “The problem with them winning the league last year is that everyone's expectations are going to rise and if you're not challenging, expectations are going to drop.

“It's a must they get into the Champions League. But I think they have genuinely got to win a competition.

“We'll be stood here towards the end of the season and if they haven't got any of them, questions will be asked about the manager again.”

Fowler also believes that the Spurs match stands as a missed opportunity for Liverpool.

“They had a good chance to put a bit of a stamp on their own season, get into that top four and stay there,” he explained. “But, again, they have faltered.”

After winning the league last term and spending north of £400m the following summer, it’s fair to say Liverpool’s title defence hasn’t gone to plan.

And Roy Keane claimed Slot gave his players too much downtime after securing the title with four games to spare.

Speaking after the Tottenham match, the ex-Man United captain said: "They were partying with four weeks to go, there were celebrations after every league game. It is Liverpool Football Club, are you not expected to win league titles? When you do, enjoy it but back it up next year.

“They've been bad champions. To be 21 points behind Arsenal, what a drop off that is. So I think there are issues going on.

“I don't think they are on the same page, there doesn't seem to be the same chemistry with the players.”

Jamie Carragher has sent a warning to Arne Slot after his Liverpool side were booed off following their 1-1 Premier League draw with Tottenham on Sunday

Jamie Carragher has warned Arne Slot he faces a challenge to get Liverpool supporters back onside after his side were booed off against Tottenham Hotspur. Richarlison’s late equaliser sparked an exodus before the remaining Reds supporters booed their team off the field on the final whistle.

Speaking after the game, Slot said he didn’t blame Liverpool fans for venting their frustration at the full-time whistle. But Carragher has warned Slot that the draw with Spurs, along with the defeats to Wolves and Galatasaray, has brought a shift in the fanbase.

"The bigger point is how worrying it is for the manager, and I think there is a difference between most support in terms of what we see online and social media compared to the match-going fans,” he said on Monday Night Football.

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"And I think for a lot of this season when people have turned on Arne Slot, the match-going fans have stuck with him.

"You think even what happened with Mo Salah the next game was away in the San Siro, and they (the fans) were chanting for Arne Slot. And it is not easy for a Liverpool crowd to turn on a manager who has won a title 12 months before.

"But I felt there was a big shift yesterday in terms of how the crowd felt in terms of their Liverpool team and their manager.

"The booing at the end, that was proper booing, that was a really unhappy and disgruntled fanbase and I think it is going to be really difficult to get them back.

"Once you lose that crowd, it is very difficult. Now something really special could happen in terms of a Champions League, or maybe you win the FA Cup and you qualify for the Champions League.

"But I think a lot of the supporters have gone on the back of what has happened in this last week, especially one point from Wolves and Tottenham and losing the first-leg to Galatasaray in the Champions League, and I am not that confident, certainly as I was a few weeks ago, about going through against Galatasaray.”

Carragher also believes Liverpool's biggest problem is their pressing, saying: "I think they're really deep. I said on commentary yesterday that they are lots of things wrong with this Liverpool team, nothing's working. But the biggest thing that stands out for me that Liverpool have lost is the press.

"Pressing wasn't just a Jurgen Klopp thing, but the whole point of people saying, 'It's tough going to Anfield,' is not that Liverpool are always amazing on the ball or got the best players. It was that it's a tight pitch, the fans are on top of you, Liverpool get after you and win the ball back and go forward – and that is something that is sorely lacking and is the biggest problem at Liverpool right now."

Before he added: "They're not a team, they're a team of individuals. Quality players, yes, but just been dropped in with no cohesion.

In his latest weekly column, John Aldridge assesses another disappointing Liverpool afternoon against Tottenham Hotspur and why the Premier League could come to the rescue

Anybody who wants to know how far Liverpool have fallen this season needs only watch what happened against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Almost 12 months ago, the two teams met at Anfield and we absolutely battered them to seal a Premier League title triumph that was as emphatic as it was deserved.

But at the weekend Arne Slot’s side couldn’t even beat what was in effect a Tottenham reserve team given all the injuries and suspensions the visitors had.

Since that win against Spurs last April, Liverpool have lost 15 games in all competitions. That’s not very good at all.

A fair amount has been made about the booing at full-time on Sunday. I’ve been supporting Liverpool for more than 50 years and I still hate to hear the players being jeered at full-time.

But you can understand it. It has been a culmination of what the home fans have had to put up with at Anfield for much of the season. There hasn’t been a lot of enjoyment for anyone involved.

It’s not as though the players have been chucking it in. They haven’t. The effort was very much there but what there quite clearly isn’t much of is belief.

Then there’s the question of aggression. There just isn’t enough of it from Liverpool’s players. Sure, they might win the ball in a challenge, but then they give it away instantly because they aren’t showing enough conviction. If you’re going to head it, then properly head it. Clear it. It seems at times they are thinking too much about what the next pass might be rather than dealing with the situation there and then.

As ex-players watching on, we couldn’t believe what was happening in the build-up to Tottenham’s equaliser. You could see it coming a mile off.

The team has become anxious during the closing stages of games, and that once again cost us.

But the anxiety is happening at other key points in the game. Look at the end of the first half when we gifted Tottenham some chances. That surely helped them going into the second half.

Look, you’re always going to concede late on during a season. But you shouldn’t be doing it as many times as we have been, especially given so many of them have changed the outcome of matches.

Even if you take away just half of those late goals, we’d be a lot further up the table and probably be on the tails of Manchester City. Then you’re going into games with a totally different mindset and with more confidence. Those late goals are what are basically destroying our self-belief.

The problem on Sunday is we didn’t kill the game off. We got the lead and were on top, and then we simply let the game drift away from us and back into the hands of Tottenham.

There’ll be plenty of talk about the changes made by the manager, but on form how many of those who didn’t start deserved to?

You might say Alexander Isak and possibly Conor Bradley would have been good shouts had they been fit, and I’d have perhaps started with Hugo Ekitike and, if tiredness was an issue, taken him off after an hour.

I get that Slot probably thought his line-up had enough to beat Tottenham and, in truth, it should have done easily. A 1-0 win wouldn’t have been great but it would have been three points.

And that’s all that matters at the moments – results. Liverpool need to start getting more quickly.

Premier League salvation

Let’s be honest – the standard of the Premier League is pretty poor this season. And that might end up being good news for Liverpool.

You only have to look at the performances of the English teams in the Champions League last week to realise the top flight is somewhat over-rated.

Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are already effectively out, we could easily have lost by more at Galatasaray and Arsenal scraped a draw.

Newcastle United were the only ones to gain a good result but you’d still not have them as favourites to go through at Barcelona.

What it all means is that despite so many indifferent performances, Liverpool are still very much in the hunt for Champions League qualification.

But let’s be clear – that was two massive points dropped against Tottenham Hotspur that could prove crucial.

We are going to need to turn up at Brighton on Saturday. It isn’t going to be any easier there.

Richarlison put his body on the line to save Everton and he showed with his goal and all-round performance against Liverpool that is likely to do the same for Tottenham Hotspur

There is a lot you would want in a Premier League relegation fight that Tottenham Hotspur are missing.

Interim boss Igor Tudor has failed to provide a new manager ‘bounce’ and instead has appeared to cause more division at a time when unity is essential. Captain Cristian Romero’s discipline on the pitch and on social media has also been problematic while there has been major disruption behind the scenes.

What they do have, and what could prove crucial - as Everton supporters will attest - is Richarlison. The forward is once again showing he is willing to fight when the situation is dire, a characteristic that saved the Blues and could now save Spurs.

The 28-year-old (can you believe he is only 28?) led from the front at Anfield on Sunday. His history with Everton makes him a target on the pitch and from the stands at Liverpool and for a long time it looked as though his efforts would go without reward - his seemingly thankless task greeted with jeers at every failed foray forward.

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Yet he carried on and dragged a depleted, threadbare side on its worst losing streak in generations to an unlikely point that started to look more and more of a possibility as he kept going.

The warning signs were there for Liverpool - the Brazil international forced a good save from Alisson Becker with a header from a corner and then was agonisingly close to meeting an Archie Gray cross when any touch would have led to an equaliser.

But relegation-fighting Richarlison is a different beast and he got his goal in the 90th minute, earning Tottenham a vital point.

As he celebrated inside a stunned stadium it was hard not to think back to how he pulled Everton from the mire under Frank Lampard four years ago. It was his goal just after half-time - created by him hunting down the ball - that gave the Blues the win over Chelsea that kickstarted the run to survival.

His celebration, in which he picked up a smoking flare, was one of several iconic moments on a day in which Evertonians held their first coach welcome in the tight streets surrounding Goodison Park and when Jordan Pickford made one of the great saves of the Premier League era.

Ten days earlier he had rescued a point at home to Leicester City through sheer force of will and the forward would pop up with six goals in the last nine games of the season that mattered - including the equaliser in the comeback win over Crystal Palace that guaranteed survival and made a final day trip to Arsenal meaningless.

There are several players who deserve immense credit for hauling Everton from the mess that year. Seamus Coleman was an inspiration on and off the pitch and Pickford provided several crucial saves. Richarlison was vital, too. That he did it all while carrying an injury made it even more impressive.

“We were at risk of relegation,” he later said in an interview with the Players’ Tribune. “I was exhausted. I lost weight, and I could barely play an entire game. I had been injured in the Olympics, and I was injured again at the club. My body was asking me to stop. But it was simple: I had to help save the club. Everton do not belong in the Championship. Can you imagine? We had no choice.”

Richarlison said he refused a medical ahead of the Crystal Palace game because he feared he would stopped from playing, something he could not contemplate. He played, he scored, the Blues stayed up.

That summer he moved to Spurs but his connection with Everton has remained strong, as did his love for the club - he spent the second half of that season teasing Arnaut Danjuma, questioning his 11th-hour U-turn away from a move to Merseyside and to north London instead.

He is now tasked with saving Spurs from catastrophe and, as he showed on Sunday evening, there should be little doubt he will be up for the fight.

Dominik Szoboszlai urges Liverpool fans to stick with the team in "difficult times", admitting they felt the support wane during Sunday's draw with Tottenham Hotspur

Dominik Szoboszlai has urged Liverpool fans to stick with the team in "difficult times" - after many left in the closing stages of Sunday's draw with Tottenham Hotspur. The Reds were held 1-1 by struggling Spurs and were also subjected to boos following the full-time whistle.

Szoboszlai scored his 11th goal of the campaign in the first half with another free-kick for his growing collection but relegation-threatened Tottenham secured a 90th-minute equaliser via former Everton striker Richarlison.

Scores of match-goers headed for the exits in stoppage time, while those who stayed at Anfield jeered as Arne Slot's Reds missed the chance to properly capitalise on defeats for Chelsea and Aston Villa over the weekend.

Szoboszlai revealed the players are affected by those who choose to leave early and has asked the Anfield faithful to remain firmly behind the team as the quest for Champions League qualification goes on.

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“I think it should be normal that in hard times we stick together more because that’s what we need, we need each other," the Hungary captain said.

"We want to make them happy, it’s not that we do it on purpose. We want to make ourselves happy, make all the Liverpool supporters happy, but we need them.

"Last year it was for sure enjoyable to watch all the games but this year maybe it’s not that enjoyable, for sure, I can imagine. But still support us also when we are in difficult times.

“Of course. But as I said they can be angry but stick with us because we are a family, we need you guys. We would like to make them happy so just stay together.

"For sure. I don’t say they have no right to leave the stadium, they can leave if they want. We need them and they should know this. We are one less without them.

“If you talk about Liverpool then the Champions League is normal. You have to be there. When I first came we played in the Europa League, so it happens sometimes that we don’t achieve [Champions League qualification].

"But our aim is to get in the top four or go as far as we can in the Champions League. I am going to do everything that is possible to finish in the top four but alone I’m not enough so we need everybody.

"We had already a couple of weeks ago a talk between each other saying: ‘Guys we don’t have such a lot of time to do this right so we have to wake up and start to go in a way that we want to play Champions League next season’.

"We have Galatasaray on Wednesday and that will be a tough game because we felt it there. I don’t think it helps us also that after 80 minutes people start to go home, it doesn’t help us at all. Stick with us.

"Everyone is noticing that and when we concede a goal still people are leaving the stadium – you don’t leave when we score. I understand the frustration but we need them, we need everybody, and that’s the most important."

The draw moved Liverpool into fifth place, which is expected to be the final Champions League spot, but there was little sugarcoating what was a frustrating day for Slot and his players against a Spurs side who had lost all four previous games under new coach Igor Tudor and haven't won a Premier League game since December.

Szoboszlai added: "Where do we go from here? It’s a good question. If I knew the answer I would be the first one to go to the team and say it.

"We have to find solutions. As I’ve said many times before, it’s a little bit boring when I say this, but we still need to find a solution because we are running out of time.

“We played a completely different game in the second half to the first half. The answer for this. Why? I don’t know.

"First half we controlled the game, we played well, we were winning the balls, they had hardly created any chances – maybe a couple of headers – but we were in control and I feel in the second half we lost this control a little bit and it [the game] went there and back, there and back a lot of times.

"Sometimes we have to stay calm more on the ball and also, again, [conceded] in the last minute.

"Somehow this year is like this but we have to stick together and that’s the most important thing because the good times are always easy to stay together, but in the hard times it is the most difficult to stay together.

"But we have to because it is a long way to go still."

National media react to 'sleep-walking' Liverpool's draw v Tottenham - 'No wonder the locals jeered'

A look at how the national media reacted to Liverpool's 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League at Anfield on Sunday afternoon

Liverpool might have moved into the Champions League places they are coveting this season but a 1-1 draw with a beleaguered Tottenham Hotspur did little to calm the noise around their head coach on Sunday.

The ECHO, as always, was at Anfield to provide our exhaustive match-day coverage. Our player ratings, on-the-whistle reaction, big-game verdict, considered analysis and the reactions of both Arne Slot and Igor Tudor were covered in detail.

Our national media colleagues were also on hand to provide their own takes on a deeply disappointing draw for the Reds. Here's what they made of it.

The Daily Mirror's Andy Dunn writes: "One has a single point from his four Premier League matches, one won the Premier League title in his first season. But Arne Slot looked like the manager under pressure when Richarlison mis-hit a scruffy equaliser as the Anfield clock ticked towards added time.

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"Igor Tudor, whose calamitous spell as Spurs manager could still end soon, leapt into and punched the air, while Slot could only shake his head in disbelief. This result was a significant blow for Slot and Liverpool but a bigger issue for the Dutchman is the growing discontent around Anfield.

"The nature of the setback - Liverpool yet again conceding a late goal - was certain to prompt some jeering but there was not a great amount of enthusiasm for the home performance ahead of Richarlison's leveller. In fact, Liverpool had only been ahead through a goalkeeping error.

"This season, Liverpool have now conceded eight Premier League goals in the 90th minute or later and they have dropped seven points from winning positions at Anfield. No wonder the locals jeered."

Mike McGrath, of The Telegraph, writes: "Dominik Szoboszlai fears Liverpool could fall into the Europa Conference League next season after they dropped more points against relegation-threatened Tottenham Hotspur. The Premier League champions conceded another late goal, with Richarlison levelling for Tottenham in the 90th minute, which means Arne Slot’s team missed a chance to climb into the top four and the automatic Champions League places.

"With jeers at the final whistle after the 1-1 draw, there were questions raised about whether Arne Slot is the right man to lead the club forward beyond this season. 'Could a new manager revitalise these players and bring the intensity back to this team? I’m not sure. It goes back to the summer signings,' said Telegraph Sport columnist Jamie Carragher, on Sky Sports.

"Late goals have been an issue for Liverpool this season, with 21 conceded after the 75th minute. They have conceded 90th-minute or stoppage-time winners against Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Bournemouth, Wolves and Manchester City. Leeds and Fulham snatched very late draws and their defeat by Manchester United was also through a late winner."

Over on The Independent's pages, Richard Jolly reflects: "The ends have not justified the means. Arne Slot was considering the various ways he has tried to protect leads this season. He brought on Joe Gomez against Fulham, he remembered. The result? 'We conceded'. Then there was the method that worked last year, of using Wataru Endo 'to have that midfielder that picks up all the second balls'. Yet, in each of the first two times he brought the Japanese on as a defensive impact substitute, they conceded. That ploy was abandoned.

"Slot has gone for the counter-intuitive approach. 'I've done attacker-for-attacker substitution, not to bring a defender in,' he said. 'We've tried many things but the way we are conceding goals is also constantly different. It hasn't led yet to us not conceding in the last minute.' Slot cited a deflection at Wolves.

"Others have been set-pieces. Tottenham scored in open play on Sunday. Liverpool dropped two points in the 90th minute, a third costly late equaliser to add to the five injury-time winners that have gone into their net. The problem, as Slot ran through the things he has tried, is that it made him sound a manager struggling for solutions; if that is true in a wider sense, a lack of answers would bode badly for him and them.

"But the broader issue of Liverpool concede late goals reflects a host of problems. The fact is that they do: 12 after the 80th minute of league games this season, the joint most in the division. Those conceded in the 90th or later have cost them 11 points. A theme is that even their supposed inferiors are empowered to attack, perhaps by a sense Liverpool’s fragility means they might concede."

The Times' Paul Joyce writes: "Cry, Igor Tudor had said, or fight. The sight of the Croat, fist raised as he celebrated on the touchline, showed Tottenham Hotspur opted for the latter and, for now, the sob stories can be cast aside.

"It appeared that the spirit and resilience summoned by a team, shorn, remember, of a host of senior players, would go unrewarded and their interim manager would be left to resemble a dead man walking.

"Tudor may well remain that in the eyes of many, but Richarlison’s perseverance on an afternoon when he waged a one-man assault on Liverpool’s back line eventually paid off.

"Perhaps it will earn his coach a stay of execution. Maybe it will prove the moment to revive Tottenham’s fortunes. For now, all that is certain is that this precious point keeps them above the relegation zone with the crunch Premier League game with Nottingham Forest to follow on Sunday.

"How much of Tottenham’s competence was down to Liverpool’s insecurities can be debated, although the boos from the home supporters spoke volumes and confirmed the paucity of the hosts’ offering. No-one inside Anfield was surprised at yet another late sting in the tail, or the calamitous defending that preceded it, with Arne Slot’s side sleep-walking to another terrible result in their pursuit of Champions League football."

And the ECHO's verdict reads: "Richarlison's 90th-minute equaliser means Liverpool conceded another deeply damaging late goal and their inability to manage games in the closing stages is maybe the biggest problem of the myriad of issues Slot and his players have been made to work through on the pitch.

"Add Spurs to the list that includes Wolves, Manchester City, Fulham, Leeds, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Crystal Palace for goals shipped after 90 minutes. Eight, unsurprisingly, is new record for the club across the course of a season. The 'game-management' has been horrendous.

"And how galling it should be for the Premier League champions to become the first side not to beat Igor Tudor's Tottenham, a tragicomedy team who are perilously close to playing Championship football in August themselves.

"Somehow Spurs find themselves scrapping to stay afloat in the top flight after a torrid term and they came into this game following the debacle at Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night, which led to legitimate and widespread calls for Tudor to be immediately removed from what is only a temporary post.

"But outside of another Dominik Szoboszlai free-kick, Liverpool failed to break down a side who had conceded 21 goals to their hosts in the previous six games. That list includes the match from 11 months ago, when a 5-1 win at Anfield preceded some of the greatest scenes ever witnessed at this famous old venue as the title was confirmed in front of 60,000 fans.

"That feels a like a lifetime ago now for everyone concerned but the flickering of those joyous memories has maybe kept Slot's job safe from serious, internal scrutiny this long.

"Liverpool insiders have always insisted their head coach is the right man to lead this team forward after a chastening season, much of which has been beyond the control of those in the technical area.

"But when results suffer and performances become this chronically ordinary, it opens the door to genuine questions that cannot be dismissed as knee-jerk reactions or the immediate outbursts of a reactive social media."

Igor Tudor got his first point as Tottenham Hotspur manager in a 1-1 draw at Anfield

Tottenham Hotspur manager Igor Tudor believes merely addressing “simple things” was sufficient to inflict more gloom on Liverpool at Anfield.

The Reds were held to a dismal 1-1 Premier League draw at home to the relegation-threatened Londoners on Sunday afternoon.

Former Everton striker Richarlison scored the equaliser in the 90th minute after Dominik Szoboszlai had struck an opener with a free-kick early in the first half.

It was the first time Tudor avoided defeat as Tottenham boss at the fifth attempt despite being without a host of players through injury and suspension.

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And Tudor said: “It feels nice. Some fresh air. Some good things for the confidence of the players around the club and with the fans. There was a good team spirit, in the circumstances coming here without players, this is something big.

“We stayed in the game and believed we could scored a goal. It was nice.

“With the ball I said we should do simple things, second balls, fight in the moment. You have to do the simple things right. They showed this. It’s a good start.

“We prepared in training with Conor (Gallagher) in the middle but in the morning we had to change. It is what makes this point even more valuable. Congratulations to the guys, they were happy in there.”

Tottenham have now moved a point clear of the relegation zone with eight games left to play.

And Tudor added: “We hope the goal can kickstart us. It’s a long way to our goal of staying in the Premier League, there are a lot of games to play. But today it was important to show what we can do.

“They were honest and they showed everything. It was not easy.

“We need to see what we can do in the next two games, who is injured and who can play. It’s not easy in terms of numbers, that’s why this result was even more important.”

Rio Ngumoha has reacted after making his first start in the Premier League for Liverpool against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Sunday afternoon

Rio Ngumoha has spoken of his pride at making his Premier League debut for Liverpool even though he was disappointed his side couldn't hold on against Tottenham Hotspur. The 17-year-old, who impressed during the recent 3-1 FA Cup victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, was handed his first top-flight start by Arne Slot at Anfield.

And Ngumoha and his team-mates got off to the perfect start when Dominik Szoboszlai fired the Reds ahead with a wonderful free-kick after just 18 minutes. Ngumoha was withdrawn just after the hour mark, with Hugo Ekitike coming on in his place, and a minute from time Richarlison struck to secure Spurs a huge point in their battle to avoid the drop.

And taking to social media after the game, the England youth international told supporters his side will “go again" as they continue their quest to secure Champions League football next season.

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He wrote: “Disappointed with the result today but happy to make my first Premier League start. We go again.”

Explaining his thinking behind handing Ngumoha his first start in the Premier League, Reds boss Slot told BBC Radio 5 Live post-match: "I have 12-13 players that are able to bring good performances.

"Rio is doing that well it makes sense to play him. It is a mix of playing the ones that are fit and using the quality that these players can bring."

Ngumoha also saw appeals for a penalty waved away by referee Chris Kavanagh in the first-half, and former Reds defender Jamie Carragher believes the correct call was made.

He said: “I don't think it's a penalty. He's almost on the way down. He just comes across, but the legs just don't clip.

"Porro has a real tug of his shirt. He (Souza) almost just brushes him around the midriff. It's definitely not a penalty."

Liverpool were booed off at full-time, and when asked about the reaction, Slot said: “I think it's understandable for fans to be frustrated because it happened already so many times that they've seen the home team not picking up the points that they're expecting to, us conceding goals in the last minute.

“Now it's up to us to bring that frustration to Wednesday and come up with a big performance. Because that we are all frustrated, that's completely clear.

“And it's now up to me and the players to take that frustration into Wednesday evening and show the fans the performance and the results they deserve, because they've been supportive throughout the whole season to us.

“Then if it happens so many times that they are frustrated in the end of a game or after the final whistle, that makes complete sense to me.”

Arne Slot says Liverpool have become their own worst enemy after a 1-1 draw with relegation-threatened Tottenham Hotspur

Arne Slot admits Liverpool have become their own worst enemy after another goal conceded after 90 minutes saw Tottenham Hotspur earn a 1-1 draw at Anfield.

After Dominik Szoboszlai's free-kick gave the Reds the lead, Igor Tudor's relegation-threatened Spurs fought back and levelled late on through former Everton striker Richarlison.

It means Liverpool have conceded in the 90th minute or later a whopping eight times this season with Spurs joining Wolves, Manchester City, Leeds United, Fulham, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Crystal Palace on that list.

"Of course, it’s damaging but how many times has this been damaging for us?" Slot said. "We don’t help ourselves at all. So many times this season, we have created much more xG (Expected Goals) or chances than the amount of goals we score.

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"Usually, in the Premier League, you see a lot of teams outperforming their xG but that is definitely not what we are doing throughout the season. The game stays tight until the end and we struggle to keep clean sheets.

"We haven’t had as many clean sheets as you’d want if you want to go higher up in the table and that’s a bad combination for picking up the amount of points we want to pick up."

Slot added: "In large parts of the game, we were the better team. That is a moment you have to score a second.

"We had moments to do so, quite a lot and in the part where it was more equal, the last 15-20 minutes, on both sides it was waiting for one of the two teams to score.

"They created chances in a similar way, the four or five moments they had. Long ball, picking up the second ball and trying to be a threat. We also picked up a lot of those second balls where we were able to counter-attack them.

"From all these counter-attacks, four-v-threes, three-v-twos, I felt with all these quality players we have that we should be able to get a bigger chance or when we have it, be able to score it. But we didn’t and conceded the equaliser and there’s not enough time left to make up for it."

Verdict from Paul Gorst at Anfield as Liverpool are held to a 1-1 draw with relegation-threatened Tottenham Hotspur

As Tottenham Hotspur earned a corner in stoppage time while searching for a rare victory, it was impossible to avoid the sight of so many Liverpool supporters streaming for the nearest Anfield exit.

Those who remained voiced their frustrations after the final whistle of this 1-1 draw, further hammering home the message that what they are witnessing simply isn't good enough.

A draw on a weekend when Chelsea and Aston Villa both lost means Arne Slot's side do actually move up to fifth and into that all-important final Champions League qualification spot in the Premier League.

But that, clearly, isn't enough to pull the wool over the eyes of many match-going fans who are starting to vote with their feet and, judging by the sound of the boos at full time, their voices too. It's not the first time they have been audible at the final whistle either lately.

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Richarlison's 90th-minute equaliser means Liverpool conceded another deeply damaging late goal and their inability to manage games in the closing stages is maybe the biggest problem of the myriad of issues Slot and his players have been made to work through on the pitch.

Add Spurs to the list that includes Wolves, Manchester City, Fulham, Leeds, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Crystal Palace for goals shipped after 90 minutes. Eight, unsurprisingly, is new record for the club across the course of a season. The 'game-management' has been horrendous.

And how galling it should be for the Premier League champions to become the first side not to beat Igor Tudor's Tottenham, a tragicomedy team who are perilously close to playing Championship football in August themselves.

Somehow Spurs find themselves scrapping to stay afloat in the top flight after a torrid term and they came into this game following the debacle at Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night, which led to legitimate and widespread calls for Tudor to be immediately removed from what is only a temporary post.

But outside of another Dominik Szoboszlai free-kick, Liverpool failed to break down a side who had conceded 21 goals to their hosts in the previous six games. That list includes the match from 11 months ago, when a 5-1 win at Anfield preceded some of the greatest scenes ever witnessed at this famous old venue as the title was confirmed in front of 60,000 fans.

That feels a like a lifetime ago now for everyone concerned but the flickering of those joyous memories has maybe kept Slot's job safe from serious, internal scrutiny this long.

Liverpool insiders have always insisted their head coach is the right man to lead this team forward after a chastening season, much of which has been beyond the control of those in the technical area.

But when results suffer and performances become this chronically ordinary, it opens the door to genuine questions that cannot be dismissed as knee-jerk reactions or the immediate outbursts of a reactive social media.

The football has become too pedestrian and too ponderous for too long. Those disgruntled by what has been served up are within their rights to expect more from a squad that had £450m spent on it after winning the title by 10 points last time out.

Slot will of course counter that a lot of quality left during the summer months but the decision to plunder £320m into just three deals - for Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike - means the squad has looked so short and unbalanced after a handful of injury issues. The head coach shouldn't be solely blamed for that squad planning at least.

Slot rested Ekitike, Mohamed Salah, Ibrahima Konate and Milos Kerkez for this, keeping one eye on Wednesday's Champions League clash with Galatasaray.

That meant a first Premier League start for Rio Ngumoha, who once more showed flashes of his burgeoning talent but few others grasped their opportunities. An injury-ravaged Spurs side were rarely put under the sort of duress they have come to expect at Anfield and chances were at a premium.

"I feel flat," Szoboszlai admitted after the game. "We have to wake up because if we carry on like this, we should be happy with the Conference League [next season]. I don't know why this is happening, I honestly don't know."

The mere mention of the UEFA Conference League should send a shiver down the spine of owners Fenway Sports Group given the club's reliance on the Champions League bounty. But the team are unable to rise above this dogfight they find themselves in and their European fate remains in the balance as the March international break approaches.

Szoboszlai's latest sublime effort opened the scoring but the decision-making and execution of the final passes or shots continued to suffer as the game wore on. That meant the visitors - who had lost all four previous games under the combative, cantankerous Tudor - sensed a way back into things.

And it just had to be Richarlison, didn't it? The player who gets under the skin of Reds fans like few others snatched a late leveller that will feel like a Liverpool defeat. It certainly did for those shuffling towards the exits at least.