Arne Slott’s European record – 2 clubs, 1 final and the curse of Roma – Liverpool FC

As Liverpool’s head coach, Arne Slott is expected to be competitive in Europe and even win silverware, which he almost did in 2022.

One key element of Slott’s job will be to ensure Liverpool compete domestically and on the European front.

It took Jurgen Klopp a while to learn, but Slott probably won’t have that luxury. He will, however, have a bigger and better team than his predecessor inherited.

Here we look at how the Dutchman has fared in European competition during his managerial career so far and why he could avoid Roma at all costs.

2019/20 – Europa League playoff round

In his first season after being promoted to manager of AZ Alkmaar, Slott guided his team through three rounds of qualifying for the Europa League group stage.

He faced Man United there, losing 4-0 at Old Trafford, but led his side to a goalless draw at Alkmaar’s AFAS Stadium.

They drew twice against Belgrade’s Partizan, but in two matches they defeated Astana 11-0 and thus scored a point above Partizan.

However, they did not advance further, defeated by LASK in the round of 16, with a total score of 3-1.

2020/21 – Europa League group stage

For teams that usually benefit from a passionate home support, such as Alkmaar, in the 2020/21 season.

However, we can conclude that Slott was still developing his craft and getting used to European football before achieving better things at Feyenoord.

His side were beaten in the Champions League qualifiers by Dynamo Kyiv and then crashed out in the group stage of the Europa League, despite a win against a strong Napoli in the last match.

2021/22 – Runners-up in the European Conference League

That’s when Slott really started to emerge as a manager. In his first year at Feyenoord, he took them all the way to the final of the European Conference League.

They were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Jose Mourinho’s Roma, but on the way saw off a good Union Berlin team, a tricky Slavia Prague side and then Marseille in the semi-finals.

The stamina they showed that season was impressive, as they had to play a total of 18 matches in the competition, including three qualifying rounds to reach the final. All that time they managed to finish third in the Eredivisie.

2022/23 – Europa League quarter-finals

The following campaign was an opportunity to prove that Feyenoord could take their performance and match them at a higher level.

And they did, until their campaign was once again interrupted by Mourinho and Roma at the quarter-final stage of the Europa League.

Sloto’s side stuttered through the group stage but progressed thanks to a 1-0 home win over Lazio in the last match.

They were then drawn against Shakhtar Donetsk and the first leg was close, with the score 1-1 at the Legia Warsaw Stadium.

The second leg was anything but close as Feyenoord produced one of their best displays of the Slot era, winning 7-1 at De Kuip.

The disappointment of another loss to Roma was later made up for by winning the league for the first time in six years.

2023/24 – Champions League group stage

As Dutch champion, Slott guided Feyenoord to the group stage of the Champions League, their first two home games yielding six points against Celtic and Lazio.

However, four defeats in their other matches, including a 2-1 defeat in the final against Celtic, meant they were eliminated in the Europa League play-off round.

There they faced Roma again and lost again. Luckily, the Italian team didn’t qualify for next season’s Champions League, so Liverpool can’t meet them!