Liverpool entered their final Premier League fixture of the 2025-2026 season at Anfield needing just one point to secure a top-five finish.

Ultimately, a goal from Curtis Jones, which was later cancelled out by Kevin Schade, ensured the Reds clinched fifth place. This emotional day was also marked by the final appearances of Robertson and Salah, concluding their illustrious careers at Liverpool.

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

On the match itself, Liverpool secured the point needed for Champions League football…

Once again, we didn’t achieve the result we deserved, which has been a recurring theme throughout this season. We certainly merited a victory, although in the 100th minute, we could have even lost it. We’ve witnessed this so many times this campaign – we create chances to score the winning goal, and then in the tenth minute of added time, they get a serious opportunity, like that header. This time, it didn’t go in, but often this season, those chances have found the net.

So, I believe it was another fixture that mirrored many others we’ve played. I recall it took them approximately 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 initial significant chance. And yes, set-pieces remain another area we’ve discussed extensively this season.

Reflecting on the entire season…

We arrived today aiming for the bare minimum, which was Champions League qualification. As you can observe from the league table, even major clubs sometimes fail to secure a place in the Champions League or even European competitions. Several prominent teams in this league have missed out on Europe in recent seasons. Therefore, we can never take this achievement for granted, though it’s clear we aspired for more. However, I am immensely proud of the players and what they’ve accomplished this season, as it has been an incredibly challenging campaign for us, considering everything we’ve endured, particularly with all the injuries.

But if this ultimately represents the minimum for us – qualifying for the Champions League in fifth place, and facing the FA Cup winners after losing an away match against Manchester City, something many teams do. 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, of course, beat them in the Club World Cup, and perhaps Arsenal in a final, but not over two matches. So yes, this isn’t what I would have envisioned for us to achieve this season before it began, but given the circumstances and everything that transpired, I am content today that we have secured our place in the Champions League.

On the supporters’ send-off for Robertson and Salah…

It was magnificent, as always, and precisely what you would expect from our incredible fans. They wholeheartedly gave Robertson and Salah the send-off they deserved. These are two legends who have collectively lifted nine trophies over the past nine years. So, indeed, for them, it must have been a profoundly special day, likely a difficult one too, but certainly memorable, and the fans made it exceptionally special. 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 honour these two exceptional players.

Regarding any decisions he might have handled differently throughout the season…

Oh yes, many things. I admit, we weren’t perfect, but I would have provided the exact same answer even in the year we won the league title, 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 driven by a single principle: being meticulously prepared. So, none of my decisions were ever made with the thought, ‘Oh, I don’t have time, let’s just make a quick choice.’

No, I always gave them considerable thought, 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 choice I made was correct. But before I enacted them, I always genuinely believed they were the right course of action. Most of the time, though, I didn’t even have the luxury of making many decisions or choices because this particular match was perhaps the first time this season that we had no Academy players on our bench, which truly highlights its exceptional nature. Therefore, if you asked me for one word to encapsulate this season, I would unequivocally describe it as ‘injuries’.