Arne Slott admits frustration as Liverpool draw with Leeds United – ‘Possession doesn’t mean much if you can’t create enough chances.’

The Reds had 69% of possession against Daniel Farke’s side but struggled to create any serious chances in the Premier League clash on New Year’s Day.

Liverpool’s night could have been even worse for the visiting side, although Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s second-half goal was ruled out for offside.

It was the first goalless draw under the slot regime and the first at Anfield in two years, but it was largely due to Leeds continuing their impressive unbeaten run, leaving the home side stifled and frustrated.

Champions Liverpool are in fourth place, three points behind Chelsea, but 12 behind leaders Arsenal.

“I think we’re the best possession team in the league,” Slott explained in the post-match press conference.

“But possession doesn’t mean much if you can’t create enough chances.”

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Both against Leeds and against other teams, Liverpool’s overabundance of possession does little as they struggle to create chances consistently.

Slott has talked about facing a low block from Premier League teams this season, but couldn’t find a way to break through it.

“Creating chances against low blocks requires pace and individual special moments to create overloads,” Slott added. “You don’t see a lot of 15 or 20 passes and goals against low blocks.”

When asked what the Reds were missing, Slott said: “Goals. That’s the simplest answer. There are ways to solve that to score goals against a team that defends very well in and around the box.”

“For some teams in this league, it’s set-pieces. We were close with Virgil (van Dijk), we took eight corners and unfortunately we didn’t score.

“Another way to unleash that is what we saw last week against Wolves, where Jeremy Frimpong had a magical moment, a quick one-on-one with the ball in. I think he had some of those moments today as well. It would have been nice to have more bodies in their box.”

“It was probably a penalty.” – Slot

In the first half, Liverpool saw a potential penalty scream waved away as Xhaka Biyor and Hugo Ekitike battled for the ball inside Leeds’ box.

Slott believes the French striker would have been awarded a penalty if he had fallen down in the box instead of standing upright and trying to score.

Bijol tried to control the ball while surrounding Ekitike with his arms and thrust the ball into the path of Florian Wirtz.

There was a protest from Liverpool after the challenge, but referee Chris Kavanagh waved off the screams and VAR opted not to intervene.

Asked if he thought Ekitike should have been given a penalty, Slott said: “No, because he kept standing.”

“If he had gone down, it probably would have been a penalty. But I can understand why he didn’t go down, because there have been many times this season where we’ve been fouled in the 18-yard box and not gotten a penalty.”

Hugo Ekitike is challenged by Xhaka Bijol during the Liverpool vs. Leeds match at Anfield on New Year’s Day.

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“Maybe as a result of that, our players started thinking, ‘Let’s hold our ground.'” They conceded several penalties where there was little contact. Brentford away, Crystal Palace in the Charity Shield, we can go on and on with the soft penalties we’ve conceded this season.

“But away at Brentford, when there was a foul on Kodi Gakpo, the referee told us to keep playing.

“Perhaps as a result of that, our players try everything to get on their feet. And if they stay on their feet, it’s difficult for VAR to intervene or for the referee to award a penalty.”