Arne Slot insists Liverpool will go all out against PSG in their UCL second league tie
Arne Slot insisted that his Liverpool team will look to win rather than defend their 1-0 lead against Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League last 16 tie on Tuesday.
Harvey Elliott’s 87th-minute strike snatched a victory for the Reds at the Parc des Princes in the first leg, having been dominated by PSG for most of the contest.
Indeed, Liverpool won the match despite having 25 fewer shots than PSG, the joint-largest negative difference in shots by a winning team on record (from 2003-04) in a Champions League knockout stage game (PSG v Bayern Munich in April 2021 also 25).
And after losing their first European meeting with the Parisiens in April 1997 (0-3 in the Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final first leg), Liverpool have only lost one of four against them since, winning three of them.
And Slot said that his players were out for another victory over the French side this time around to reach the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time since 2021-22.
“We try to win every game,” Slot told reporters on Monday. “We want a different game (than last week) and our intentions are the same. We don’t want a draw. We want the ball as much as we can.”
Slot also confirmed that Cody Gakpo would be back available, having missed three of Liverpool’s last five Premier League games due to an ankle injury.
Gakpo has impressed in the Champions League this term, with only talisman Mohamed Salah (seven) registering more goal involvements than the Dutchman (four).
Following their meeting with Luis Enrique’s side, Liverpool take on Newcastle United for the first piece of silverware in English football in the EFL Cup final on Sunday.
The Reds also extended their lead at the Premier League summit to 15 points after coming from a goal down to beat bottom club Southampton, with second-placed Arsenal held to a 1-1 draw at Manchester United on Sunday.
Slot, however, laughed off suggestions that he was dreaming of lifting silverware in his debut season on Merseyside this week.
“No, you don’t dream, you have to work really hard to prepare the team the best way,” he said. “I try to do this every game.
“When you have a game like last week (at PSG) you wonder if you can even sleep.
“I don’t dream this week. We are focused, and the week started off well on Saturday, and now we look forward to tomorrow. Everyone looks forward to a game like this.”
“The result (in the first leg) was ours, but the performance was for them. We are 1-0 up, and it gives us confidence; the performance (gives PSG confidence).
“This is the most complete team we have faced so far. They have so much quality with a great coach (Luis Enrique). He lets them play in a way that is not easy to play against; (their) work-rate is incredible.”
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