Liverpool's 4-0 defeat to Man City: Arne Slot's lack of attention to detail on throw-ins is a symptom of their bigger problems
Arne Slot's Liverpool keep getting the basics wrong and even their throw-ins undermined them in the 4-0 FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Man City; Adam Bate argues that this is part of a bigger problem – the lack of attention to detail that has ruined their season
Adam Bate
Adam Bate Sunday 5 April 2026 11:49, UK
On the face of it, Manchester City's 4-0 win over Liverpool was as emphatic as it gets. But the frustration for Liverpool supporters is that it is the details that are costing their side. Arne Slot puts some of that down to misfortune. It is much more than that.
The Liverpool head coach turned to his now familiar complaints about his side being punished for every mistake, while failing to take their chances at the other end. And it is true that the expected-goals data had this FA Cup quarter-final as a 2.44 versus 1.46 game.
Possession was shared. The teams had 11 shots each. And yet, it is not luck. It is a lack of attention to detail that keeps undermining Liverpool's efforts. The fear is that this can now be seen as part of a wider trend, a slipping of the standards at Anfield this season.
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"I think after they scored the 1-0 we were still in the game but then we had a throw-in," Slot explained in the press conference afterwards. "Twice we conceded when we had a throw-in. And they go so fast, in those moments you have to defend sharper."
Sitting in that press conference, listening to Slot's forthright exchange with journalist Ian Ladyman, football editor of the Daily Mail, it was striking that while the Dutchman could analyse exactly what had happened, he could not say how he would put it right.
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On this specific point of throw-ins, that is particularly difficult to understand. Liverpool were among the first clubs in the Premier League to appreciate their importance fully. Jurgen Klopp appointed Thomas Gronnemark as the first specialist throw-in coach.
Speaking to Gronnemark earlier this season, he appeared genuinely baffled at what he was now seeing at Liverpool. He revealed he had analysed their Wembley defeat to Crystal Palace in August and saw a side who were unrecognisable with the ball in their hand.
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"Liverpool had a possession on throw-ins under pressure of 33.3 per cent and that is really low," he said. "Some would say it is just a throw-in. No, it is like any other football action on the pitch. If you have the ball, you can keep possession, have control, score a goal."
Tellingly, he added: "If you lose the ball, your opponents get control and they can score a goal against you." That is exactly what happened against Manchester City. Indeed, it would be hard to find a clearer example of it happening than Antoine Semenyo's goal.
Joe Gomez threw the ball perfectly to the feet of Marc Guehi, under no pressure at all. The City defender cushioned a pass to Nico O'Reilly, who quickly turned to feed Rayan Cherki. Suddenly, City's most creative player had the ball 35 yards from Liverpool's goal.
In space and with runners, he found Semenyo for the finish. Klopp famously said that there is no playmaker as effective as gegenpressing but the brilliant Cherki, aided by Liverpool's abysmal defensive throw-ins, might just be a close second in that race.
It is detail not luck. "They don't understand how to create space," said Gronnemark. "When they try to run one time and it doesn't work, the players don't know what to do. They don't know where to throw, the players don't know how to create space again."
The takers have changed since Gronnemark was there. Perhaps the lessons learned - Liverpool went from 18th to first from throw-ins under pressure when he came in - have been allowed to slide. Back in October, he saw it as a failing across the entire competition.
"To be totally honest, I am totally in shock because I expected after I was in Liverpool that the teams would start to be really good, but, if you ask me, it has almost been worse because they are not working with it or they are working with it in the wrong way."
Since then, Gronnemark has been recruited by a Premier League side. Not Liverpool but Arsenal, a team whose fine record this season is routinely attributed to their focus on the details rather than any inherent superiority in the quality of their squad.
That is what reflects so poorly on Liverpool this year. There are many mitigating circumstances for Slot, matters far beyond his control. There have been traumatic off-field issues, a major overhaul of players, legends on the wane and injury problems for him to manage.
Where the sympathy runs short is not with the macro but the micro. The little things he can control. A throw-in might seem like nothing. But then it contributes to the biggest defeat of his time at Liverpool. And it can suddenly feel like a symbol of something much more.
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