The Reds concluded their 2025-2026 Premier League journey at Anfield on Sunday, needing just a single point to guarantee a top-five finish. Curtis Jones’ goal, scored just before the hour mark and later cancelled out by Kevin Schade, ultimately secured fifth place for Liverpool. The day was particularly poignant, marked by emotional farewells as Robertson and Salah made their final appearances in their illustrious Liverpool careers.

Below is a comprehensive transcript of Slot’s last post-match press conference of the season.

on the match, securing champions league qualification…

Once again, we didn’t quite get the result our performance deserved, which has been a recurring theme throughout this season. I genuinely believe we deserved to win this match, even though, in the 100th minute, we could have even lost it. We’ve witnessed this scenario so many times this season: we create chances to score the winning goal, and then, deep into stoppage time, the opposition gets a serious opportunity, like that header. This time, it didn’t go in, but it has on numerous occasions this season.

So, I feel it was another game that mirrored many others we’ve played. I recall it took them perhaps 40 minutes before they even entered our penalty area for the first time. I might be slightly exaggerating, but we completely dominated the first half. Yet, from a simple throw-in, they created their first real chance. And yes, set pieces are another area we’ve extensively discussed this season.

on the season as a whole…

Our objective today was to achieve the minimum requirement, which was securing qualification for the Champions League. As you can see from the league standings, not all major clubs manage to qualify for the Champions League or even European competitions. Over recent seasons in this league, several prominent clubs have failed to secure European football. Therefore, we can never take this achievement for granted, although it’s clear and evident that we aspired for more.

Despite this, I am incredibly proud of the players and what they’ve accomplished this season. It has been an exceptionally challenging campaign for us, enduring numerous difficulties, particularly with all the injuries we’ve had to contend with. I can vividly recall everything we’ve experienced. While ultimately securing Champions League football in fifth place might be our minimum, and facing the FA Cup winners after an away loss to Manchester City – a fate many teams share – and losing to Paris Saint-Germain for the second consecutive year (no team has beaten them over two legs in the last two years, though Chelsea in the Club World Cup and perhaps Arsenal in a final have managed it in a single match), it’s not what I envisioned for us at the start of the season. However, given all the adversity we’ve faced this campaign, I am pleased today that we have qualified for the Champions League.

on the reception given to robertson and salah…

It was magnificent, as it always is, and exactly what you’d expect from our supporters. They absolutely gave Robertson and Salah the send-off they deserved. These are two true legends who have lifted nine trophies over the past nine years. So, yes, for them, it must have been a profoundly special day, likely a difficult one too, but certainly memorable, and the fans made it extraordinary for them. I believe I’ve stated this many times: this club understands how to celebrate a league title, how to navigate tragedies, and without a doubt, this club knows how to celebrate these two exceptional players.

on anything he could have done differently throughout the season…

Oh yes, many things. I, and we, haven’t been perfect, but I would have answered that question in precisely the same way even in the year we won the league. As a manager, you can never be perfect, and a player can never be perfect. However, every decision I made throughout the season was based on a singular principle: being meticulously prepared. So, no decision I made was ever taken with the thought, ‘Oh, I don’t have time, let’s just make a snap decision.’

No, I always gave them thorough consideration, and as you know, not every decision can turn out to be the right one. It would be foolish of me to sit here and claim that every decision I made was correct. But before I made them, I always felt they were the right choices to pursue. Most of the time, however, I didn’t even have the luxury of making many decisions or choices because this particular match was perhaps the first time all season that there wasn’t a single Academy player on our bench, which has been an anomaly. So, if you were to ask me for one word to describe this season, it would undoubtedly be ‘injuries’.