Arne Slot knows where blame lies as Liverpool boss vents his frustration

Arne Slot and his Liverpool players almost defeated Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday, but they were denied by Harrison Reed's last-minute strike at Craven Cottage

Arne Slot was left frustrated on Sunday(Image: Sky Sports)

Arne Slot has claimed "the only one to blame is ourselves" after his Liverpool players dropped another two points on Sunday.

The Reds were held to a 2-2 draw by Fulham at Craven Cottage. Ex-Liverpool star Harry Wilson opened the scoring for the home team before Florian Wirtz hit an equalizer just before the hour mark following a controversial video assistant referee (VAR) review.

Cody Gakpo appeared to secure the win for Liverpool after finding the net in the 94th minute, but there was still enough time for Harrison Reed to score from distance with a sensational strike. Slot's frustration was clear during his post-match press duties.

"If it would have finished 1-1, then I would maybe still have been disappointed... but you are 2-1 up in extra time, and then you concede a goal, and it leads to 2-2," Slot told the BBC's Match of the Day. "We are disappointed with the outcome."

Sunday's result leaves Liverpool fourth in the Premier League table, eight points behind surprise package Aston Villa in third and 14 points behind Arsenal in first. The gap between Liverpool and Ruben Amorim's Manchester United in fifth is just three points.

Slot's players have steadied the ship after a nightmare run of six defeats in seven league games; they have not lost any of their last eight games in the division. But they failed to beat Leeds on New Year's Day, and now they've dropped more points against Fulham.

Harrison Reed scored a late goal for Fulham(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

"It is not for the first time this season that we have conceded in the final seconds of the game," added Slot.

"So many points have disappeared for us. Of course, it is frustrating. It's also frustrating that their first chance of the game goes in; that is also not the first time. Then they had a second chance when Alisson was out of his goal, and they chipped it on the bar.

"For the rest, I think it is quite good if you play an away game and barely concede a chance. It isn't as if we created chance after chance; that was not the situation. But just before they scored for 1-0, we had a similar chance where we were close.

"Every time it's just not enough. We relied on the whole season on good and bad luck, and that is something we have to improve.

"We have to improve so a shot in the last minute does not immediately lead to us losing points. That is what we are trying to do, but we have not done that yet.

"I liked our second half more than our first half. We controlled the game and a few times were close, of course, you always want more. That's what we brought in the second half: two disallowed goals, hitting the bar, a goal, that is ideally what you want to see when you have so many attacking players out."

Slot is currently without Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike due to injury, while Mohamed Salah is representing Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Slot continued: "Once in a while, the boys should get a reward, but we do not get it, and once again, the only one to blame is ourselves."