The Reds entered their final Premier League fixture of the 2025-2026 campaign at Anfield needing just one point to guarantee a top-five finish. Curtis Jones found the net just before the hour mark, though Kevin Schade equalized, ultimately securing fifth place for Liverpool. This pivotal match was also marked by heartfelt goodbyes to Robertson and Salah, who made their final appearances for the club after illustrious careers.

Regarding the day’s fixture and securing Champions League football…

“Once again, we didn’t achieve the result our performance merited, a consistent narrative throughout this season,” Slot remarked. “We truly deserved to win, although in the 100th minute, we could have even lost it. We’ve witnessed this scenario so many times this campaign – creating opportunities for a winning goal, only for the opposition to get a serious chance in injury time, like that header. This time, it didn’t go in, but it has too often this season.” He continued, “I believe it was another game mirroring many others we’ve played. They barely entered our penalty area for the first 40 minutes, perhaps a slight exaggeration, but we completely dominated the first half. Yet, from a simple throw-in, they created their first real chance. And yes, set-pieces remain another area we’ve discussed extensively this season.”

Reflecting on the entire season…

“Our objective today was to meet the minimum requirement: qualifying for the Champions League. As the league table shows, even major clubs sometimes fail to secure European football, or even Champions League qualification, in this league. So, we can never take this accomplishment for granted, though it’s clear we aspired for more,” Slot stated. “However, I am immensely proud of the players and their efforts this season. It has been an incredibly challenging campaign for us, enduring numerous obstacles, particularly with all the injuries we faced. Considering everything we’ve experienced, ultimately securing Champions League qualification by finishing fifth, and having defeated the FA Cup winners after an away loss to Manchester City – something many teams do – and only losing to Paris Saint-Germain for a second consecutive year, a team no other side has beaten over two legs in the last two years, makes me content. While this isn’t the exact outcome I envisioned at the season’s outset, given all the adversity, I am pleased today that we have qualified for the Champions League.”

Addressing the supporters’ reception for Robertson and Salah…

“It was magnificent, as our fans consistently deliver,” Slot observed. “They absolutely deserved that send-off. These are two legends who have lifted nine trophies over the past nine years. So, for them, it must have been a profoundly special day, likely a difficult one too, but certainly memorable, and the supporters made it truly extraordinary. I believe I’ve said it many times: this club understands how to celebrate a championship, this club understands how to navigate tragedies, and this club unequivocally knows how to honor these two exceptional players.”

On whether he would have done anything differently throughout the season…

“Oh yes, many things,” he acknowledged. “Neither I nor the team have been perfect, but I would have given the exact same answer in the year we won the championship, because 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 solely on thorough preparation. No decision was ever rushed or made without careful consideration.” He added, “Of course, not every decision can be the correct one, so it would be foolish for me to claim that all my choices were flawless. But before making them, I always felt they were the right course of action. Most of the time, I didn’t even have the luxury of making many choices, as this particular match was perhaps the first time all season that we didn’t have any Academy players on our bench – that was an exception. So, if you asked me for one word to encapsulate this season, it would undoubtedly be ‘injury’.”