On Sunday, the Reds played their final Premier League fixture of the 2025-2026 campaign at Anfield, where they needed just one point to guarantee a top-five finish.

Ultimately, Curtis Jones’ goal, scored just before the hour mark and later cancelled out by Kevin Schade, secured fifth place for the club. This result concluded an emotional day marked by the final appearances of Robertson and Salah, who have enjoyed brilliant careers at Liverpool.

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

On the match itself, securing the necessary point for Champions League football…

Once again, we didn’t quite get the outcome we deserved, which has been a recurring theme throughout this season. We certainly merited a victory, though, in the 100th minute, we could have even lost it. We’ve witnessed this scenario so many times this season: creating chances to score a winning goal, only for the opposition to have a serious opportunity, like a header, deep into stoppage time. This time, it didn’t go in, but it has on numerous occasions this season.

So, I believe this match mirrored many others we’ve played. I recall it took them nearly 40 minutes to even enter our penalty area for the first time. Perhaps I’m exaggerating slightly, but we completely dominated the first half. Yet, from a simple throw-in, they created their first real chance. And yes, set pieces have been another consistent topic of discussion for us this season.

Reflecting on the season as a whole…

Our objective today was to achieve the minimum requirement, which was 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. In recent seasons, several prominent teams in this league have failed to secure European spots. Therefore, we can never take this for granted, though it’s clear we aspired for more. However, I am genuinely proud of the players and what they’ve accomplished this season, as it has been an incredibly challenging year for us, dealing with numerous setbacks and a significant number of injuries.

Considering everything we’ve endured, securing Champions League qualification in fifth place, and having faced 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, with no team managing to defeat them over two legs in the last two years (Chelsea did in the Club World Cup and perhaps Arsenal in a final, but not over two matches) – it wasn’t the season I envisioned at the outset. Yet, given all the circumstances, I am content today that we have qualified for the Champions League.

Regarding the reception given to Robertson and Salah by the supporters…

It was magnificent, as expected from our incredible fans. They truly gave them the send-off they deserved. These are two legends who have collectively 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 undeniably memorable, and the supporters ensured it felt special. I believe I’ve stated many times that this club understands how to celebrate a league title, how to navigate tragedies, and it certainly knows how to honour these two exceptional players.

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

Oh yes, many things. Neither I nor the team were perfect, but I would have given the exact same answer even in the year we won the championship, because as a manager, one can never be perfect, and a player can never be perfect. However, every decision I made throughout the season was based on thorough preparation. No decision was ever made hastily with the thought, ‘Oh, I don’t have time, let’s just decide this.’

No, I always gave them considerable thought. And, as you know, not every decision can be the right one. It would be foolish of me to sit here and claim all my decisions were correct. But before I made them, I always felt they were the best course of action. Most of the time, I didn’t even have the luxury of making many choices, as this match was perhaps the first time this season that we didn’t have any Academy players on our bench, which was truly an exception. So, if you asked me for one word to describe this season, it would undoubtedly be ‘injuries’.