Liverpool flight delay adds to troubled buildup to Eintracht Frankfurt trip

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Liverpool’s preparations for their Champions League match at Eintracht Frankfurt have been seriously disrupted after the team’s flight was delayed due to technical problems with the plane.Arne Slot and his squad were scheduled to depart Liverpool John Lennon airport at about 4pm on Tuesday after a training session at the club’s base. However, the flight was delayed for more than three hours, leaving Liverpool’s players waiting in the executive lounge throughout that time.

Liverpool had to cancel Slot’s customary pre-match press conference and the needed to take off in time to land in Germany before Frankfurt Airport closed at 11pm German time (10pm BST).skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionA club statement confirmed: “Our pre-match press conference for the clash with Eintracht Frankfurt has been cancelled. A delay in the squad’s scheduled flight out to Frankfurt, due to technical issues with the aircraft, means the briefing will now not be able to take place.”Technically Liverpool are in breach of Uefa regulations by not hosting a press conference but the club is unlikely to be fined because the delay was beyond their control.

Arsenal found themselves in a similar situation last season when their flight to Lens was delayed.Uefa rules state: “The clubs must arrange for their teams to arrive on-site by the evening before the match concerned at the latest, and in time to fulfil their media obligations the day before the match.”The disruption adds to Slot’s problems as he seeks to address a damaging run of four consecutive defeats in all competitions, after Sunday’s 2-1 victory for Manchester United at Anfield. A fifth loss on the run against Eintracht on Wednesday would be Liverpool’s worst run since one of five Division One defeats in 1953, in their last relegation season.