Slot hints at more attacking signings after Liverpool lose Community Shield on penalties | OneFootball

Arne Slot has suggested his Liverpool squad could do with more attacking options after losing the Community Shield on penalties to Crystal Palace.

The Reds lost the Community Shield 3-2 on penalties following a 2-2 draw but there were positives for the Reds, with the Dutch manager was pleased to see his new signings Hugo Ekitike and Jeremie Frimpong on the scoresheet.

“I think it is always nice to score a goal, not only form Ekitike but also Jeremie Frimpong when you start your career at a new club,” he said.

“It would have been even nicer to win a game of football because I think that is more important than scoring a goal.”

But explaining the decision to take Ekitike off in the second half, Slot said it was partly because of a lack of depth in attack in his squad.

“Ekitike had a good impact but he is also an example of a player that came only one or two weeks ago at the end of our Asian tour,” he said. “So for me it would not be smart to play him for 90 minutes.

“We have Federico Chiesa but he did not play much on the Asian tour so there is not a lot to replace Ekitike with so if he got an injury that would be a big risk for the Bournemouth, Newcastle and Arsenal games.”

Before Liverpool and Crystal Palace’s Community Shield final everyone in the stadium was asked to observe a minute’s silence for Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Jota after they died in a car crash in July.

However, a minority of Crystal Palace fans did not respect the tribute causing a reaction in the Liverpool end of the stadium and the tribute was cut short.

Slot believes that the Palace fans may have not understood what they were doing and meant no disrespect towards the former Liverpool forward and his brother, however.

“If I look at the respect that has been paid to them both from all around the world, I don’t think that this was planned or this was the idea of the fan that made some noise,” he said.

“Maybe he was not aware of the fact that it was the minute of silence, he was just happy and tried to cheer for his team and I think then the Palace fans were trying to calm them down.

“I don’t think the guy or people that made the noise had a bad intention. Then they tried to calm him down but that was a bit noisy and then our fans reacted.

“So I don’t think there was a bad intention to it as fans of Crystal Palace and clubs all around the world have paid huge respects to Diogo and Andre.”