Arne Slot Reflects on Liverpool's Pre-Season Defeat to Preston

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot highlighted the fitness and tactical incorporation of players despite a pre-season defeat to Preston North End. The match saw a slew of academy prospects in action, with senior players also taking part. Preston claimed a 1-0 win, thanks to Robbie Brady's goal.

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot revealed his concerns following a pre-season match loss to Preston North End held behind closed doors. The defeat, marked by a 1-0 scoreline, featured a predominantly academy-level squad at the AXA Training Centre.

Senior players such as Curtis Jones, Mohamed Salah, and Dominik Szoboszlai played the first half before being substituted. Slot emphasized the game's main positive outcome: all players remained fit both before and during the match.

'After two weeks of intense training, it was crucial to play a game,' Slot told Liverpoolfc.com. 'The most important thing is, everybody was fit before and after the game. The result wasn't ideal, but they stayed fit, got minutes, and many young players had opportunities.'

Despite Liverpool controlling much of the game, Preston converted their only shot, courtesy of a remarkable long-range strike by Robbie Brady. Slot was pleased to see his players applying new tactics from recent training sessions.

'We dominated, conceding just one shot, but that shot went in,' Slot said. 'We had promising build-up moments and chances in the first half. The second half saw fewer opportunities due to young players playing out of position. Overall, the team worked hard to adopt new tactics.'

Liverpool's next pre-season fixture is against Real Betis on July 27 at Acrisure Stadium, Pennsylvania. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)