Arne Slot had every reason to be happy that his team had won their sixth Champions League game since the fall of the Wall, but he couldn’t hide his displeasure with Liverpool’s performance.

Mohamed Salah’s goal from the penalty spot was the difference for the Reds, who moved one foot into the last 16 with a narrow 1-0 win at Girona.

It wasn’t Liverpool at their best as they allowed 13 shots on goal (five on target) and allowed Alisson to show why he is a world-class goalkeeper.

Slot’s mood during his post-match press conference was indicative of the high standards he sets for the club, with a clear undertone that he was unhappy with what he saw.

“If you ask me after all six games, I’m really happy with all the results,” Slot began.

“I’m very happy with the way we played the (first) five games, I’m anything but happy with the performance tonight.”

Pressed on what he wasn’t happy about, Slot said: “A lot. Two things in particular.

“When you play against a team that has such a good idea of ​​football and knows how to get the ball out from the back, like City or Real Madrid, then you have to be too.” So intense if you want to make things difficult for them.

“But if you wait a few seconds every time before you press, and then you press and get outplayed so easily, then this team can cause you a lot of problems.”

“They showed that throughout the Champions League season, with the exception of the away games at PSV. That’s why I almost feel sorry for them because they deserve so much more.”

“The other part was that every time we lost the ball we weren’t aggressive enough, so almost every time we lost the ball they were able to go to our goal and take a shot.

“Hardly any control of the game, maybe the second half was a little better, but I’m trying to think positive.”

Slot barely smiled as he spoke to the press, stressing that his team was “far from aggressive enough without the ball” and that it was “not normal” to allow “so many chances”.

The standards are high, as they should be, and you can be sure Slot will teach that to his side ahead of their clash with Fulham at Anfield on Saturday.