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Arne Slot has reiterated how big a transition this summer has been for Liverpool and the playing squad.
The Reds have made wholesale changes in the transfer market, with Caoimhin Kelleher, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jarell Quansah, Luis Diaz, and Darwin Nunez all leaving, while Kostas Tsimikas, Harvey Elliott, Federico Chiesa, and Ben Doak could still depart.
Meanwhile, there have been six major additions to the first-team group, including four who made their debuts in Sunday’s Community Shield. Slot said before the game that his team will need time to gel, which was evident at times against Crystal Palace at Wembley.
Despite some intricate attacking moves, Liverpool’s performance levels dropped late on, while there were several defensive slip-ups throughout in the 2-2 draw.
Asked after the game about the summer changes, Slot said: “After two years of no change, we brought a lot of money in and then I think it is a good moment to get new energy in.
“We have lost four starters and players that have played a lot for us. Some wanted to leave, like Trent,” he added, choosing to namecheck the former Liverpool right-back, despite Diaz and Nunez also keen to move on.
“As a result of that, we had to bring players in and that is what we did. We have to make sure we are ready for Bournemouth and then after that we have Newcastle away and Arsenal - I don't need to tell you how good those two teams are.”
Virgil van Dijk said on Sunday that the Reds may need to add an attacker despite the expensive outlay this window, but Slot seemed to disagree with that sentiment after the game.
“I think we have more than enough options to be good enough to win again,” the Liverpool head coach told talkSPORT.
“This is where I focus on myself. With the players we have, we should be able to win to score.
“That's actually what we did as well. We scored twice [against Palace] and last season we only scored one against them, away and at home.
“We could only score one against them. So my last concern at the moment is our offensive quality.
"It's more, it's not a concern, but if I look at the amount of goals we've conceded in pre-season. That's not of our standard."
On the game, which Liverpool lost on penalties, Slot added: “We faced a good team. They made it difficult for us last season and they did today.
“We were able to create more than we usually do against teams that it low. But if you are conceding two goals it is too much, especially if you take penalties like we did.”
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