Slot on Salah, Alisson and improvements

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has been speaking to the media before Sunday’s Premier League game against Manchester United at Old Trafford (kick-off 15:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

Slot said Mo Salah has a “minor injury” and will be back for the final part of the season but not in time for Sunday. He added: “It is a big relief that his injury is minor and he is able to play for us and at the World Cup. If a player deserves a big send off then it is Mo.”
The Liverpool boss said Alisson Becker is “close” to training with the group but has not done so yet. He did say there a difference between an outfield player and goalkeeper in terms of coming back – that “players need to run much more than goalkeepers do” and that [with outfield players] “it’s usually that the fitness levels are not at the intensity required for the Premier League”.
Slot believes his team can be “at a much higher level” than they have been in their past three games, which they won. He added: “We’ve shown already that we can play much better but in many of these games we were very unlucky with the outcome. In the last three games, I wouldn’t say we didn’t deserve to win but we were more lucky than we’ve ever been this season.”
He added: “This team is capable of much more but it would be helpful if everyone is available once in a while and that hasn’t been the situation throughout the whole season. It’s very extreme at the moment the amount of players we have missing.”
The Liverpool boss admitted that converting chances is not something they have done very well this season and said “one of the players that we thought could score a lot of goals for us [Alexander Isak] has hardly been available”.
On the possibility that he will add to his backroom staff this summer, Slot said: “We all know we’ve lost a member of staff during the season. We parted ways [with Aaron Briggs] so I think it makes complete sense for this club if someone is leaving in a certain department that you are looking at a replacement.”
In the short time Florian Wirtz has been at the club, Slot said the development he has made is “clear” and that he is “already an elite player but he can only become better”. He added: “That’s the beauty of the signings we made last summer. All of them are at a certain age where we can only expect them to become better as long as they don’t get injured.”
On facing Manchester United, Slot said: “We are aware of the fact it’s a very big game, not only because we play Manchester United but also to qualify for Champions League and to get the highest possible finish in the league table. We know how important it is to qualify for the Champions League for any club but definitely for our club.”
He said United were better than their league position suggested last season and have become “more consistent, especially under Michael Carrick” in their results.