Arne Slot Acknowledges Liverpool Must Deliver a ‘Remarkable’ Display Against PSG

Slot’s team is on the brink of elimination at the hands of PSG for the second consecutive season following a lacklustre showing in Paris last week.

Liverpool failed to register a single shot on target at the Parc des Princes, and Slot admitted that a considerable improvement is essential to outsmart Luis Enrique’s side at Anfield.

“We understand that an extraordinary performance is necessary to progress to the next round, which is entirely typical when going up against the champions of Europe,” Slot conveyed to the media on Monday.

“In the 49 home matches played during my tenure, we’ve managed to score two goals or more on 36 occasions.

“Admittedly, not all of these 49 matches were against Paris Saint-Germain, but the opponents we’ve faced in the Premier League and Champions League have been formidable.

“There is a belief among us that we can achieve something special tomorrow, but it will require an exceptionally high level of performance.”

Slot has faced increasing criticism following Liverpool’s disappointing defence of their Premier League title and their humiliating exit from the FA Cup, where they suffered a 4-0 defeat to Manchester City in the quarter-finals.

Following three consecutive losses against Brighton, City, and PSG, Liverpool managed to alleviate some criticism, at least temporarily, with a 2-0 victory over Fulham on Saturday.

However, a lacklustre exit from the Champions League would ramp up the pressure on Slot ahead of Sunday’s Merseyside derby against Everton.

‘Start aggressively’

Slot is aware that Liverpool must put up a much better fight than they did in Paris, where they struggled to maintain possession and seldom threatened the PSG defence.

“We are facing the champions of Europe, which makes the challenge tougher but not impossible,” he stated.

“For now, let’s concentrate on the task at hand, start aggressively, and ensure we can get back into the tie.

“Saturday demonstrated how crucial a goal can be… moments later, we scored the second. That’s what football teaches us—a goal can shift momentum, something that happened unfavourably for us at Manchester City.”

While Slot faced criticism for Liverpool’s passive performance in the first leg, he asserts that his team can win with a similar strategy at Anfield.

“It may be hard for some to accept what I’m about to say, but our approach tomorrow won’t differ significantly from the one in Paris. Those who know me understand that I never instruct my players to sit back for the entire 90 minutes,” he said.

“You could see that we pressed them high on several occasions, though unfortunately, seven or eight of those situations resulted in them being one-on-one with our goalkeeper.

“The last time we clashed, they had possession for 76 percent of the match, so that’s the first aspect we need to address tomorrow: we need to control the ball more.

“If we maintain possession, it allows us to present a greater attacking threat on the pitch, and that’s precisely what we will aim to do tomorrow.”