Liverpool coach Arne Slot admitted his team were well beaten by Paris Saint-Germain in Wednesday’s Champions League quarterfinal first leg as he defended his decision to play with three central defenders and insisted the Reds still had hope going into the return.
“Paris Saint-Germain was by far the better team today and could have scored more than two goals, but the good thing was the Liverpool players showed fighting spirit and kept going,” Slot said after his side went down 2-0 in the French capital.
Desire Doue gave PSG an early lead with a deflected strike and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia got their second goal after the hour mark, in a match which saw the hosts have 70 per cent possession and 18 attempts on goal to the visitors’ three.
“Of course you think you can do better, but we were in survival mode for large parts of the game, and maybe also we are in survival mode at this period of the season,” said Slot, whose team have won just one of their last six matches.
“It is really hard against this team. PSG was the better team, but we didn’t give up and that is why we still have a chance in this tie, and now we can bring the tie back to Anfield, and in between there is still a very important game to play against Fulham.”
Slot selected Joe Gomez as a third centre-back alongside Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk, while Mohamed Salah was left on the bench and did not feature at all – unlike Alexander Isak, who appeared as a late substitute for his first appearance since December after injury.
– Salah ‘saving his energy’ –
“The last part of the game it was more about surviving for us than it was ever about scoring,” Slot said of his decision not to use the Egyptian off the bench.
“Mo has so much quality but for Mo to be 20 to 25 minutes defending in his own box, I think it is better for him to save his energy for a lot of games we have coming up.”
The Dutchman is under pressure with his team sitting fifth in the Premier League and now at real risk of an exit from Europe, unless they can turn the tie around next Tuesday.
He explained his decision to change the formation was mainly down to the attacking threat posed by PSG’s full-backs, Achraf Hakimi on the right and Nuno Mendes on the left.
“Milos (Kerkez) had to play almost as a left-winger facing Hakimi, and then there were four defenders left, so you could almost explain it as a 4-3-3,” he said.
“Just think about what would have happened if we had played with real wingers against Hakimi and Nuno Mendes.”
Liverpool must now attempt to bounce back at home to Fulham in the Premier League before the return against PSG, who have a weekend off after their Ligue 1 game at title rivals Lens was postponed.
“I think we played very well against a top-class side – they changed their system but we are used to that because teams have a habit of changing the way they play against us,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique.
“It is just a shame because we created a lot of chances in the second half and could have scored more goals.”
PSG beat Liverpool in the last 16 last season, going through in a penalty shoot-out at Anfield.
“I have been to Anfield many times as a player and coach and it is always complicated, but mentality is always the same, wherever we play, we always go out to win the game,” said Luis Enrique.
