Slot glad Hugo Ekitike stayed on feet despite missed chance to claim penalty

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot was left to rue striker Hugo Ekitike’s determination to remain on his feet and not try to win a penalty in a goalless draw with Leeds but insisted he would never encourage his players to make the most of contact.

The France international battled on despite Pascal Struijk’s attempts to wrestle him off the ball and, although it ultimately created a chance for Florian Wirtz, Slot felt had the forward hit the turf it would result in a spot-kick.

As a result, some determined Leeds defending at Anfield saw Liverpool held to their first goalless draw since December 2023 in Jurgen Klopp’s final season and Slot’s first in his 84th game.

Asked whether the first-half incident was a penalty the Dutchman, who insisted in August his team were the “most honest in the Premier League”, said: “No, because he stayed on his feet.

“If he had fallen down it would probably have been a penalty but this season so many times when we were fouled we did not get a penalty.

“This season we have conceded a few soft penalties but Brentford away with Cody Gakpo the referee said, ‘play on’ so our players try to stay on our feet and then it is hard for the VAR to interfere.

“We keep doing the same things. I don’t believe in the fact that over a season you get what you deserve but in a long time, two, three, four seasons, then I believe in it.

“I think I am not wrong in that we only had one penalty this season, for the team with most ball possession it is surprising.

“But I would not tell you I am encouraging them to do that. We are just who we are. We stay on our feet.”

Slot admitted his side came up short against well-organised opponents who kept their first clean sheet since August.

“We are the team that has the most but ball possession means not a lot if you cannot create enough chances and to create chances against a low block you need pace, individual special moments to create an overload.

“Another way is to create a counter-attack but there are 11 players in front of you and it is not easy to find players who are free close to the goal. We saw a team that kept trying.”

However, Leeds boss Daniel Farke was impressed with the performance.

“It was always clear that we would need a special performance to travel away with a point,” he said.

“It was clear there would be several periods where we had to suffer but we didn’t allow them clear-cut chances.

“We needed a really balanced performance to return with a hard-fought point but we really deserved a clean sheet, which is good for the mood and also for the confidence. Certainly a really good day.”

The only downside was a yellow card for captain Ethan Ampadu which means he will miss Sunday’s visit of Manchester United.

“I have to calm myself down because I am still struggling to accept that,” he added.