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Slot must revive Liverpool after four consecutive defeats

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Profligacy in front of goal shown by Gakpo and Salah misses

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German coach says team still confident despite poor run

By Lori Ewing

LIVERPOOL, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Coach Arne Slot conceded he has a challenge on his hands to revive Liverpool's faltering form after Manchester United ( MANU ) claimed a rare win at Anfield to hand the reigning Premier League champions a fourth consecutive defeat.

The Liverpool boss was left ruing his players' profligacy in front of goal, with Cody Gakpo hitting the woodwork three times and squandering a golden opportunity to equalise again in the dying minutes of the 2-1 loss.

Mohamed Salah also missed a gilt-edged chance when he fired a close-range shot well wide of the net then shook his head in frustration. Liverpool's talisman has now gone seven games without a non-penalty goal.

Slot acknowledged the scale of the task ahead. If Liverpool lose to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday, it would be the first time the Reds have lost five in a row since September of 1953.

"As a manager, challenges never stop," Slot said. "Whether it's winning games at the start, stepping into a big club, or succeeding someone like Juergen Klopp, each phase brings its own test. Now, losing four in a row is another challenge. That's the life of a football manager."

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Despite the poor run, Slot insisted confidence within the squad remains intact.

"In every game we've lost, we've created an incredible number of chances in the second half," the Dutchman said. "If we keep doing that and improve in a few areas, there's every reason to believe we'll start winning again.

"But when you're chasing a game, you take more risks - and that's where we've struggled defensively."

Slot also expressed frustration over Bryan Mbeumo's goal a minute into the game, suggesting play should have been halted due to a head injury sustained by Alexis Mac Allister, who later required four stitches.

"The main thing I should do now is not complain at these kind of things," he said. "We should have done much better after Macca was on the floor, but the healthcare of the players is important and if a player needs four stitches you would hope everyone understands he needed treatment.

"But we could have done better and that is not the reason we lost. The reason is we missed far too many chances to win a game of football."

Liverpool's troublesome start comes despite the club spending an unprecedented 446 million pounds ($599 million) in the summer transfer window, bolstering their squad with the arrivals of British record signing Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and others.

($1 = 0.7449 pounds)