Arne Slot admits Liverpool got a bit more than they deserved in their victory over PSG in the UCL
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot acknowledged that his team were fortunate to beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
Substitute Harvey Elliott scored the winners in the 87th minute, just 47 seconds after coming off the bench, with Liverpool’s first shot on target and second attempt compared to PSG’s 28.
“[Alisson] showed that he is the best in the world today. To go away with a win from here was probably a bit more than we deserved,” said Arne Slot.
“If you look at the result, we come away here really positive but if you look at the performance then they are two different things,” he added. “I think PSG take a lot of positives towards the game we are going to play in a week.” Arne Slot said.
Arne Slot also paid tribute to the contribution of goal scoring substitute Elliott and Darwin Nunez, who laid on the assist for him.
“A big moment for him [Elliott]… He is in competition for players that I hardly take off. So, he has to do it with limited playing time but he just keeps on going,” Arne Slot said.
“But it wasn’t only Harvey, it was also the one who assisted, Darwin, who came from a difficult two games but was absolutely there again tonight because from the moment he came in we were more of a threat than before.” Arne Slot acknowledged
The Premier League leaders were indebted to goalkeeper Alisson Becker, whose nine saves were the most he had ever made in one match for the club.
PSG’s first chance came when Joao Neves skied from Ousmane Dembele’s cutback, while the impressive Khvicha Kvaratskhelia had a curled effort ruled out for offside after 20 minutes.
From then it was an onslaught and Alisson was ultimately named man of the match such was his contribution.
“We had to be ready to suffer… It was a tough night for us with a happy end,” the Brazilian goalkeeper said.
“We worked hard. We gave away so many chances… And then at the end, Harvey coming in and scoring the goal. It’s unbelievable. A great story. A great night for us.”
PSG, meanwhile, had won 18 and drawn two of their previous 20 matches and were left to rue missed opportunities. Midfielder Vitinha, though, was bullish about their chances in the return leg at Anfield next week.
“We’re going to show the team we are, we’re going to show our character. We’re going to win there,” said their midfielder Vitinha. “With the game we played, the win was more than deserved. We had plenty of chances … we just couldn’t score.”
PSG head coach Luis Enrique echoed the thoughts of Vitinha, suggesting that PSG will be unfazed by playing the same way away from home.
“We will go there and play the same way we played here. We were highly superior to Liverpool, one of the best teams in Europe … The best player of Liverpool was their goalkeeper. Football is often unfair,” he said.
“Without a doubt I think we can qualify next week. We will go and show we’re a valiant team. We know it’s going to be difficult against such an impressive team.”
The winner of the tie will face either Aston Villa or Club Brugge in the Champions League last eight, with the former taking a 3-1 lead to Villa Park in the second leg.
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