Slot, a self-confessed purist who grew up idolising the fluid, possession-based style of Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, did not hold back in his assessment of the current trend. “First of all, you have to accept it,” the Dutchman said as per The Times. “I think it’s mainly here in the Premier League. If I watch other leagues I don’t think there’s so much emphasis on set pieces. If I watch an Eredivisie game, I see goals being disallowed and fouls on goalkeepers being given and I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s a big difference.’ Here, you can almost hit a goalkeeper in his face and the referee still says, ‘Just go on’. Do I like it? My football heart doesn’t like it. If you ask me, thinking about football I think about the Barcelona team from 10 to 15 years ago. Every Sunday evening you were hoping they would play.
“Now, most of the games I see in the Premier League are not a joy to watch, but it’s always interesting because it’s so competitive and that is what makes this league great because there is so much competitiveness. Everyone can win against everyone. But just as someone who loves to watch football without being interested in winning or losing, just to be enjoyed, I think there’s a big difference between now and three or four years ago in the Premier League.”
