Arne Slot defends Chelsea's transfer policy after honest 'dominant' Liverpool admission
Arne Slot has backed Chelsea's transfer policy to pay off after their dominant display against Liverpool in the Premier League.
Enzo Maresca's side narrowly fell to a 2-1 defeat at Anfield on Sunday, however the Chelsea head coach admitted if they had to lose a game, it would be in the way they did against the Reds.
"The performance was very good," Maresca admitted. "We don’t like to lose games or drop points but if there is a way for you to do so, then this is the way."
Chelsea were punished for their mistakes on Merseyside. A soft penalty given away by Levi Colwill that was converted by Mohamed Salah, and a collective defensive error allowed Curtis Jones to score the game's winning goal just minutes after Nicolas Jackson had equalised.
Post-match, Slot heaped praise on the quality of Chelsea's squad and structure under Maresca, who arrived from Leicester City ahead of the 2024/25 season.
The Liverpool boss has now extended his praise and defence of the Blues, insisting their summer transfer business, which saw them sign the likes of Jadon Sancho, Pedro Neto and Joao Felix, is now being seen by the way they are gelling and performing on the pitch.
"I don’t think we outplayed Chelsea, we certainly didn’t," Slot said ahead of Liverpool's Champions League tie against RB Leipzig on Wednesday night.
"I think they were more dominant than us with the ball. In an ideal world I would have seen us dominate the complete game like we did in so many other games.
"We are not there yet but the good thing about this team and the result was that if you face a team like Chelsea, you see a team that is fighting for every centimetre and for every moment and that is what we did.
"I’m hoping in the future, hopefully in the near future, that when we play a game like this we are more dominant than we were against Chelsea. But that probably says a lot about Chelsea as well.
"I don't think we outplayed Chelsea, they have such a strong squad and will be up there in the upcoming years" 🤔
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 22, 2024
Liverpool boss Arne Slot praises Chelsea and says they'll be challenging at the top of the league in the near future 🔵 pic.twitter.com/2urOQEYHCA
"A lot of people in England were making fun of Chelsea earlier in the season for investing so much money and bringing in all these players that weren’t in the squad but in my opinion they have done really well in the last two of three years bringing so many talented players in.
"They have such a strong squad with such a good manager that they will be up there in the coming years. That is my opinion, let’s see if I am right."
Chelsea will be hoping to get back to winning ways when they face Panathinaikos in the Conference League on Thursday night in Athens.
