By Rajes Anbalagan
With all the pressure surrounding his team’s 4-0 loss to Manchester City during the weekend, Arne Slot appeared surprisingly chirpy at the pre-match press conference for PSG vs Liverpool tomorrow. Florian Wirtz, who kickstarted the press conference, had an understandably sombre appearance.
Playing for Slot?
Florian Wirtz showcased his belief in Arne Slot by calling him a “good manager.” He also rallied for his team to stand behind the manager due to their league win last season, which could indicate that recent reports surrounding Slot’s loss of players’ trust to be true.
“We have had a lot of good games this season. We wanted it to be better, but it is what it is now. We still have things to play for. We have to believe in the manager and try to get our best on the pitch tomorrow."
Credit: Goal.com
Criticism & Decline in form
Virgil Van Dijk spoke on Sunday how he thought Liverpool may have given up in the second half of the FA Cup tie against Manchester City. Arne Slot categorically denies seeing that from his players and believes that the team had the intention to come back but could not follow through due to “various reasons”.
He did, however, praise Van Dijk for having “a strong and firm reaction” and hopes the team shows such a reaction through tomorrow’s game. Slot shares that every player and staff mirrored the sentiments of the captain and the fans after the thrashing from Manchester City, stating that everyone were “disappointed after that result”. Slot also added that it’s a good thing the team is used to all the negativity due to the setbacks this season.
Credit: Liverpool FC
“(It’s) completely true that the performance and results have been very inconsistent throughout the whole season. This club has always shown that in tough moments, they stand up again [...] It’s easier said than done, but my team has shown that we can compete with the best teams in Europe."
Florian Wirtz, however, did not even know his captain had said this and did not agree completely with the statement Van Dijk had made, citing how hard it was for the team to bounce back mentally with a scoreline like that late in the game.
“We just tried to give our best in the game when it was 3-0 or 4-0, we still had a few chances then. Of course, it's not our standards that we lose 4-0 against City. We wanted to go through that round. Next year, we should do better and be better on the pitch."
Credit: Sky Sports
Last Chance at Silverware
When asked about the pressure to perform after bowing out of multiple competitions, Slot chose to relish in the opportunity to play in the quarterfinals of the Champions League and to play against the deserved reigning champions. He isn’t focusing on what Liverpool has done so far this season but more on the second chance at facing PSG.
“PSG and Man City are quite comparable, not only because they have owners from the same area, but also because of the quality they are having and the style of play they have. It’s another chance to show that we’re not the team that we were in the 20 minutes at the Etihad that we prefer to forget, but that we were in the first 35 minutes.”
Slot emphasised how the focus should not be on who’s the favourite and that it should only be the two legs of this quarterfinal match and that “a lot can happen in two games”.
Credit: Sports.Orange
“I think both teams have very good players. The big difference between these two teams is that Paris St. Germain kept the whole (team) together; I don’t think they added anyone, they didn’t buy anyone, did they?"
UCL Aspirations
The Reds’ manager has not thought so far ahead due to the challenge in front of him in the form of the reigning Champions of Europe. He believes that the smallest of details could help or ruin their chances of winning, like how picking the best penalty takers allowed PSG to get one over the Reds last year and go on to win the whole thing.
“Usually, a team might need to win (at least one) penalty shootout in the Champions League. As much as I want to believe that there’s no luck involved in a penalty shootout, because you can train and prepare (for) it. I’m not looking too far ahead. It’s this task tomorrow evening first."
Credit: ABC News
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