Arne Slot agreement with reporter forces Wataru Endo admission

• Liverpool FC News
• Features
• Wataru Endo

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has admitted his side have missed Wataru Endo's experience from the bench after conceding goals in their last two Premier League matches against Tottenham and Wolves

Waturo Endo has been out injured(Image: Copa, Getty Images)

Arne Slot has acknowledged that Liverpool have sorely missed Wataru Endo's experience from the substitute bench amid the team’s recent difficulties in protecting leads.

The Reds held commanding 2-0 advantages against Tottenham Hotspur and at home to Wolves in their previous two Premier League fixtures, only to ship goals from corners during the second half on both occasions. Slot's team then found themselves battling to withstand sustained pressure from their rivals, despite Tottenham finishing the contest with just nine players and Wolves languishing at the foot of the division.

Endo, who continues to be absent with the ankle problem that has kept him out of the past four fixtures, built a reputation last campaign as Liverpool's "closer" when it came to safeguarding slender advantages in the dying moments.

The Japan international did feature in the closing stages of December's trip to Leeds United with Liverpool holding a 3-2 lead, only for the game to finish 3-3, and the final minutes of October's encounter at Chelsea when the Reds conceded deep into stoppage time to lose 2-1. However, his contributions were compromised by injuries sustained during both brief appearances.

And when informed that Liverpool has found itself clinging on too frequently in matches, Slot - whose team welcome Leeds for the return fixture on Thursday evening - responded, "Yep, I can only agree with you. It tells you how important goals are in a low-scoring sport. A goal can change momentum which is what we saw the last two games.

Arne Slot admits he's missed Wataru Endo(Image: Daniel Chesterton/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

"In both games, until the moment we conceded it was the performance you would like from a Liverpool team although in an ideal world with so much ball possession, I would see even more chances created.

"Goals have a massive impact on the momentum of a game. That is what has been shown in the last two games of ours.

"One way of game management is the ability to make substitutions, maybe to bring an extra defender or last year when we were one goal up, a lot of times I brought Wataru Endo in.

"I have already said, I don't know if anyone notices it but we miss quite a lot of players. That is why it is so special that the players that are fit bring these results."