Slot admits Liverpool in ‘survival mode’ in PSG defeat
Speaking after his side lost 2-0 in the French capital, Slot said: “Paris Saint-Germain were by far the better team today and could have scored more than two goals, but the good thing was that the Liverpool players showed fighting spirit and kept going.” he said.
Desire Doue gave PSG the lead with an early strike and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored their second goal after the hour mark in a game in which the hosts had 70 per cent possession and had 18 attempts on goal to the visitors’ three.
“Of course you think you can do better, but we were in survival mode for most of the game and maybe we are in survival mode at this point in the season as well,” said Slot, whose team has won just one of its last six games.
“It’s really difficult against this team. PSG were the better team but we didn’t give up and that’s why we still have a chance in this draw and now we can bring the tie back to Anfield and we have a very important game against Fulham in between.”
Slot selected Joe Gomez as the third centre-back alongside Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk, while Mohamed Salah remained on the bench and did not feature at all, unlike Alexander Isak, who joined the game for the first time since December after injury.
– Salah ‘conserves his energy’ –Slot said of the decision not to bring the Egyptian player off the bench: “The last part of the game was more about survival than scoring goals for us.”
“Mo is very qualified, but I think it would be better for Mo to defend in his own penalty area for 20 to 25 minutes and save his energy for the next many matches.”
The Dutchman is under pressure as his side sit fifth in the Premier League and risk exiting Europe if they fail to turn the tie around next Tuesday.
He explained that the 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 against Hakimi and then there were four defenders left, so you could almost explain it as a 4-3-3,” he said.
“Imagine what would have happened if we had played with real wingers against Hakimimi and Nuno Mendes.”
Liverpool need to try to get back to Fulham in the Premier League ahead of the rematch against PSG, who have the weekend off following the postponement of their Ligue 1 title rivals Lens.
“I think we played very well against a top team; they changed their system but we are used to it because teams have a habit of changing the way they play against us,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said.
“It’s a shame because we created a lot of chances in the second half and we could have scored more goals.”
PSG defeated Liverpool last season with a penalty shootout at Anfield in the last 16.
“I’ve been to Anfield many times as a player and as a manager and it’s always complicated, but the mentality is always the same; wherever we play, we always go out to win the game,” said Luis Enrique.
