Slot had doubts but happy that players proved him wrong as Liverpool leave it very late to beat Brentford to stay top.
Slot feared he was watching a familiar tale of frustration before Darwin Núñez broke through twice in stoppage time.
Given how poorly he has scored goals this season, it was easy to see the scene set for the club’s record signing when the 25-year-old was brought on as a substitute in the 65th minute by the Liverpool manager.
In a match that Liverpool dominated, Núñez would make the difference by scoring with their 36th and 37th shots. Harvey Elliott, a different substitute, assisted him by initiating the play for the breakthrough and providing the assist for the second.
Slot’s thoughts had returned to three of Liverpool’s most recent games: the Premier League draws against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, the Carabao Cup semi-final, and the first-leg loss against Tottenham.
“Yes, I had doubts about [Liverpool scoring] because before we scored the two goals it felt that I was looking at the same game again and again … the same pattern arose,” he said. “Against United, everybody was focused on the [Harry] Maguire chance [in the very last action] but in the seven minutes before we had three open chances.
“So many times in recent weeks – against Tottenham as well – we missed a lot of chances. Against Forest we missed a lot so it would be a bit surprising if I felt after all these chances missed today we will probably score in the last five minutes.
“We were close to not getting what we deserved. But the players proved me wrong again. If we would not have scored then the headlines would have been: ‘Liverpool dropped points – again.’ And no one would have told you: ‘37 shots.’ What a display. How many teams were able to have 37 shots against Brentford?
“It is the industry we work in. We all accept and understand that there’s a lot of focus [on the result] if it doesn’t go well and not as much on the fact if you give a great performance. It’s about winning and losing and not whether you play beautiful football. People only enjoy beautiful football if you win. Otherwise there’s no focus at all on the performance.”
Slot urged people to look at the xG statistics against United, Forest and Brentford. “You will then probably see that nothing has changed with us between now and the first half of the season,” he said. “What you do see is that, at this moment in time, it is a bit harder for us to convert our chances into goals.”