Slot Talk: “PSG the Best-Performing Team in Europe So Far This Season”

Liverpool manager Arne Slot says his side need to be better in leg two to turn their 1-0 advantage into advancement vs. in-form Paris Saint-Germain.

Liverpool’s first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain was difficult, with Arne Slot’s Reds heading to France and seeing their in-form opponents hold 71% of the possession, complete more than twice as many passes, and put ten shots on target to Liverpool’s one.

In the end, though, a world class performance by goalkeeper Alisson Becker and a better second half defensive performance that at least kept PSG at arm’s length defensively and stopped them getting any clear cut chances meant they carried the day 1-0. But they know they must be better now in leg two.

“Anyone who watched last week’s first leg will know the quality of our opposition,” Slot said of the challenge ahead. “This is why I have described this game as a final. I have spoken a lot about PSG in the days since we played them because it is clear how impressed people were with their performance.

“While I share that admiration, we were in no way surprised. The work in the build-up to the game in Paris indicated that PSG had been the best-performing team in Europe so far this season. That we were able to come away with a narrow victory was due to a number of factors—most notably our goalkeeper.”

As tough a challenge as PSG posed in the first leg, plenty of people—perhaps even most—would have Liverpool as Europe’s best-performing team in Europe so far this season. At the very least, they are hardly underdogs. But Alisson aside, they can and must now play better than they did in leg one.

“We could not have been happier with the result in circumstances that were so, so testing,” Slot added. “But at the same time, we know we will have to be much, much better tonight. The aim tonight is simple—to produce the best Liverpool performance that we possibly can on and off the pitch.”

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com