A strong home record and great performances in some big games this season gives the manager confidence they can overthrow the European champions
Liverpool manager Arne Slot says his side still believe they can overturn a two-goal deficit against Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League quarter-final second leg at Anfield.
Liverpool trail 2-0 after a difficult first-leg performance in Paris, where Slot admitted his team were fortunate not to lose by a greater margin. Despite that, he insists the tie remains within reach.
“First of all I’d remind the players of the score,” said Slot. “It was 2-0. It felt completely different on the night but the result was 2-0 and we have shown many times this season in big games that we are able to give a great performance.
“We have also shown a different side, I am aware of that, but for the ones that have been with me for the past one and a half years, in the 49 home games we played we were able to score two goals or more in 36.”
Slot pointed to his team’s strong home record as a reason for optimism, despite a mixed run of form that has seen Liverpool win only three of their last nine matches.
“Yes, we don’t play PSG in all 49 home games but we have played very strong opponents in the Champions League and Premier League,” said Slot. “There is a belief we can do special things tomorrow but we need to be very, very special to achieve that as we are playing against the champions of Europe. That makes the task more complicated but not impossible.”
Liverpool go into the game on the back of a 2-0 win over Fulham, with Rio Ngumoha and Mohamed Salah scoring. The result followed three consecutive defeats.
Luis Enrique’s PSG arrive in strong form having won five straight matches. Their domestic fixture at the weekend was postponed, allowing them extra preparation time. Enrique warned his players against complacency despite their advantage.
“There could be pitfalls, there could be a trap here with people saying we won easily last week,” said Enrique. “That might be true, I don’t know, but things can change quickly in a football match so you need to take care of the details.
“If we concede then the game is really open. We don’t want to allow Liverpool to benefit from their fans and the noise they create, but that is also motivation for us.”
