Arne Slot explains what 'completely surprises' him about Chelsea after Liverpool loss

Arne Slot offers his reaction after newly crowned Premier League champions Liverpool lose 3-1 at Chelsea

Arne Slot admits Liverpool fell below their normal standards as they slipped to defeat at Chelsea. A much-changed Reds were beaten 3-1 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon in their first game since being confirmed Premier League champions with four matches to spare last weekend.

Enzo Fernandez scored after only three minutes with a Jarell Quansah own goal doubling the home team’s advantage 11 minutes into the second half.

Virgil van Dijk pulled a goal back with five minutes remaining only for Cole Palmer to ensure only Liverpool’s third league defeat of the season with a penalty six minutes into injury time.

And when asked if having already won the title had an impact on his team’s performance, Slot said: “That we will never know, but I think what we saw today was a lot of things we've seen throughout the whole season - us playing through the high press of the opponent so many times, so many moments that we arrived in the final third.

“But I also saw us defending today where the last percentage was not of a normal standard, and in the final third, we come there so many times, normally we are able to create more chances.

“So that could mean two things: either Chelsea did well in both boxes, which they did, but I think it tells us also a little bit about us.

“In general, a good performance, but the final percentages weren't there to win.

“The lead up to their (first two) goals, a player of ours slipped. Would that have happened if the game was on the line? We will never know, but the margins are small in the Premier League especially if you play a team like Chelsea with so many quality players. You cannot afford these kind of moments.”

Slot made six changes from the team that beat Tottenham Hotspur the previous Sunday, with Wataru Endo and Harvey Elliott given their first Premier League starts of the season.

Liverpool had 65% possession but managed only two shots on target. And of the game, the Reds boss said: “Nothing good comes from losing a game of football but there were a few positives.

“Dominating ball possession at Stamford Bridge is not something many teams do because Chelsea are so comfortable with the ball.

“Being 2-0 down, don’t give up, trying to get back into the game, that’s what we did. We had two big chances we didn’t score then Chelsea were on the counter-attack a few times very threatening.

“When we scored at 2-1 you were like, ‘hmm, let’s see if there’s something in it’, but we didn’t really have a moment where we were close to scoring a goal and then, in the end, a correct penalty being given and Chelsea won 3-1.

“Maybe (it was) the opposite from the home game when we dominated possession and we won.”

Slot added: “I expected them (Chelsea) to be a threat this season, because they were at Anfield, they were better than us, they were so close to us, so it was a complete surprise to me that we are now 19 points clear of them.

“I didn't feel that at all coming when we played them. So that tells you how well we did probably, if a team like this have so much quality and also, not only in the first 11, but in the complete squad, we were able to be 19 points ahead of them.

“It is a big compliment for our players.”