Liverpool: Arne Slot quizzed on Chelsea fans booing guard of honour amid summer transfer hint | OneFootball

Premier League tradition was not well received by many of the home faithful at Stamford Bridge

Clubs are under no obligation to perform what is an entirely voluntary gesture, though Blues boss Enzo Maresca and defender Marc Cucurella had both publicly confirmed in the days leading up to the game that they would give Liverpool the guard of honour that they said they deserved - with title rivals Arsenal, Brighton and Crystal Palace all expected to follow suit over the coming weeks.

“I didn't hear it, to be honest,” he said of the boos. “I only heard our fans during almost the whole game. I just heard that they couldn't come here on trains, so they had to go by car. But they were on time and they were loud throughout the whole game. I haven't heard anyone booing - I only heard our fans singing.”

Slot followed through on his promise to rotate his squad against Chelsea with the title already clinched, making six changes from the thumping win over Spurs.

His much-altered team lacked intensity for long periods in west London, though forced a grandstand finish when Virgil van Dijk’s late header made it 2-1 with five minutes to play after he had accidentally caused Jarell Quansah’s unfortunate own goal earlier in the second half to follow a third-minute Enzo Fernandez strike.

However, Cole Palmer, having already hit the post, then stepped up in the closing seconds of stoppage time to coolly dispatch a penalty beyond Alisson after Quansah had fouled Moises Caicedo, finally ending his run of 18 matches without a goal across all competitions.

Such a defeat with a largely second-string side in many areas will only add to calls that Liverpool need to strengthen their squad this summer in a bid to successfully defend their title, with Georgia international goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili already set to arrive from LaLiga outfit Valencia in a £35million deal agreed last September.

Asked if he felt there was a big summer ahead in terms of recruitment, Slot told Sky Sports: “It’s already a big summer because we extended Virgil and Mo [Salah’s contracts]. For large parts of the season I don’t think everybody expected that, so for us to keep them is already a big thing.

“We will see what the summer will bring but I’ve said many times, I’m really happy with the squad we have but it is also true that it’s the second year in a row these players are together.

On potentially adding to a winning team and “striking while the iron is hot” in the transfer market, he added: “Yeah, but only if we see a chance in the market or if we can see someone who can improve us.

Federico Chiesa is the only player to have joined Liverpool during Slot’s tenure so far, but has been a peripheral figure on Merseyside since arriving from Juventus in a cut-price deal worth around £12.5m last summer.

He is expected to be given a chance to prove himself in the final weeks of the season, but was restricted to a late substitute’s role against Chelsea despite the Reds trailing as he eventually replaced left-back Kostas Tsimikas in the 82nd minute to make a fifth league appearance of the season that will guarantee him a winners’ medal.

Many fans were disappointed not to see Chiesa given more of a runout at Stamford Bridge, with Slot explaining when asked why he took so long to introduce the Italian: “Because I decided to bring other players in first, because I already brought Darwin [Nunez] in so that wasn't a position I could bring him in.

“Then Cody Gakpo, I liked him a lot today, he played a really good game and I've changed him and took him out in the last few weeks many times already. Mo is always a player that can score a goal, so that's why I first made different substitutions.

“In the end, I would almost say what people expect from me over here is we take an extra risk, so get a defender out, bring Federico in. That also led to us scoring the goal, but not enough time left for him to make the difference, unfortunately.”