Liverpool players are too honest for their own good – Arne Slot

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot believes his team are too honest for their own good but he does not want them to change in their defence of their Premier League title.

The Dutchman said he often “blamed” them for not taking a genuine foul when they had the option but also felt their positive approach was in part responsible for their success last season.

He has key midfielder Ryan Gravenberch missing through suspension for Friday’s season-opener at home to Bournemouth, while Slot was misguided in his interpretation of why his reasoning was based on a general viewpoint.

Slot thought the Netherlands international had been dismissed for a second bookable offence in the final match of last season against Crystal Palace, when in fact he received a straight red for bringing down Daichi Kamada as he prepared to race through on goal.

“If there is one team in the league that is, in my opinion, the most honest when we play – I sometimes blame them that they never try to make from a foul a little bit more – and never dives and never time delays and all these kind of things, then it is us,” said Slot.

“In the (Community Shield) game against Palace they hold Florian (Wirtz) in midfield and he didn’t fall over and the referee says ‘If you don’t fall, I don’t give a free-kick’, which is a little bit weird.

“Than a fraction later they fell down in a moment which wasn’t even a foul and the referee thought ‘Oh, he fell down so it probably is a foul’.

“We had much more ball possession than Palace but we made 13 fouls and they made five. That tells you also about who we are.”

Slot said despite the increased challenge that defending their title would pose – and the tactics opponents may employ – he did not want his team to become more