Arne Slot is aware he’s got pressure on him at Liverpool as he suggested Champions League qualification is now one of the most important parts of his season, after losing ground with a loss to Brighton.

Liverpoollost further ground in the Premier League top four race as they were beaten by eighth-placed Brighton on Saturday. It comes after the Reds threw away a lead to draw against struggling Tottenham last time out, and managed to hand Wolves only their third victory of the season the game prior.

Liverpool would have overtaken Aston Villa in fourth place had they beaten Brighton at the Amex. However, they now have a chance to be overtaken themselves, with fifth-placed Chelsea facing Everton later on, a game in which a win would see them leapfrog the Reds by two points.

The season has not looked positive for Liverpool for some time, after they began to collect losses often following a five-game winning streak at the start of the campaign.

A recent spate of poor results has ensured pressure ramped up on Slot, who’s not had close to the same impact after winning the league in his debut season.

The manager did not mention his potential fate after the Brighton loss, but did touch on the hope that Champions League qualification is still in reach.

He said: “That is what I meant before the game. What I thought was, you won’t need 24 points to qualify and hopefully I am right because we aren’t able to get 24 points anymore.

“We kept trying, in the second-half, we were close but they were closer to score the third one than we were the second one. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough after a week like this.”

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Slot suggested that European qualification is one of the main aims for the season now, as he detailed the other good things that have happened in other competitions.

“There is always pressure at Liverpool. On me, on the players. That is completely normal. We have qualified for the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and the Champions League but in the league we need to make sure that in the end, we qualify for the Champions League,” he said.

“As much as I dislike us losing here today, Brighton away has always been a difficult one and will always be a difficult one as long as they keep bringing in so many good players.

“But there are other games where we should have picked up more points, like last week against Tottenham. That is far more unacceptable than this. But even away at Brighton, a club like Liverpool should be able to get a result.”

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