‘He Needs to Stop’—Steven Gerrard Fires Warning to Arne Slot

Liverpool were worthy winners against Marseille on Wednesday but Slot’s comments prompted more issues with the club icon.

Steven Gerrard (left) had some advice for Arne Slot. | Paul Bonser/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Stuart Franklin-UEFA/Getty Images

Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard praised the club’s current manager Arne Slot for his side’s performance against Marseille, but warned that the Dutch coach “needs to stop” talking about the difficulty of facing low blocks.

Slot’s side picnicked happily in the open green grass Marseille’s progressive style afforded them during a 3–0 win of rare comfort in what has been an otherwise troubling season. Many of Liverpool’s issues have come against teams which sit deep in what is dubbed “a low block” in modern football parlance.

Just last weekend, Burnley battled their way to a 1–1 stalemate at Anfield—which produced a chorus of boos from the home crowd but very much impressed Slot.

The former Feyenoord tactician has repeatedly bemoaned the difficulty of facing these massed ranks and brought it up again after Wednesday’s Champions League win.

“I know why we’re not consistent and that is mainly to do when a game is open, it is completely different than playing against a low block,” Slot told TNT Sports. “You cannot compare that with the game tonight when both teams want to press and play out from the back. If we’re inconsistent, it’s because we struggle with low blocks.”

“He needs to stop mentioning low blocks,” Gerrard fretted when speaking as a pundit for the same network. “Low blocks have been happening against Liverpool since I was playing. That’s just the way it is.”

It wasn’t all negative from Gerrard. “I’m really pleased for him,” the former club captain admitted. “It can’t be easy when you’re under that pressure. His tactics were spot on tonight. He deserves a lot of praise and credit.”

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‘I Find It Hard’—Arne Slot Teases Jamie Carragher

Jamie Carragher has criticised Liverpool this season. | IMAGO/Pro Sports Images

If Gerrard was allowed to have the last word, his former Liverpool teammate Jamie Carragher was put in his place by Slot.

“Arne, can I ask about the setup tonight,” Carragher asked the Reds boss in his role as a CBS pundit. “The last few months you’ve tried to make the team get better and better, and you’ve played lots of different formations, can you explain how it looked tonight?”

“I find it hard to listen to you, Jamie,” Slot wryly replied, “because you are the one who told me I have to make sure we didn’t concede that much.

“So I started to do that [change his formations on a regular basis] and people began to complain it became boring, so I’m not sure if I should listen to you.”

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