Arne Slot has explained his decision to deploy a five-man defence and leave Mohamed Salah as an unused substitute during Liverpool’s Champions League meeting with Paris Saint-Germain as he sent a new rallying cry to frustrated fans.
The Reds boss produced a tactical surprise for Wednesday night’s quarter-final first-leg match against the holders at the Parc des Princes, with Joe Gomez joining the usual first-choice central defensive pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, and Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez operating as wing-backs.
The shock change in system - which PSG coach Luis Enrique admitted took him by surprise - was not successful, with Liverpool losing 2-0 thanks to a goal in each half from Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to leave them with a tough task to reach the semi-finals at Anfield next week.
The visitors had only 26 per cent possession across the game and failed to register a single shot on target in a Champions League contest for the first time since 2020 as they fell to a third successive defeat across all competitions.
The result could and probably should have been much worse for Liverpool, were it not for dominant PSG’s profligacy and a series of fine saves made by goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, starting again in the absence of the injured Alisson Becker.
Asked about his decision to use a new formation against PSG, Slot - who admitted that Liverpool had been in “survival mode” both during the first leg and at this point in a difficult season overall - said in his post-match press conference: “They have pace from everywhere, all the pitch, so it doesn’t just matter where you look you see pace and incredible pace.
“[Achraf] Hakimi and Nuno Mendes are unbelievable offensive threats apart from all the others. So, we played them with Jeremie Frimpong and with Milos Kerkez, so that was the thought behind it.
“And that way I thought we could try to press them really high and aggressive because Jeremie and Milos are also two players… if you press Hakimi and if you press Nuno Mendes they play and they start to run more.
“They don’t start to run, by the way, they start to sprint and actually it’s not even sprinting, it’s just a level above sprinting and you have to cope with that.
“And usually, usually, players like Jeremie and Milos are better equipped for that than out-and-out wingers, but I think we can also see that every time we try to press them high and aggressive, those are also the moments where we were completely ripped apart.
“I think it led to five or six big chances of them when we tried to be high and aggressive.
“So, it tells you how difficult it is to play against this team, and we try to do this in a high press with the players I just told you, and in the low block means that we have probably more defenders on the pitch, more tired, more aggressiveness.
“In the second part, I think you noticed this as well, with bringing Joe [Gomez] in you add some set-piece quality as well.”
On potentially using the system again, he replied: “There seems to be a lot of focus on the system, but what is the difference if I had played let’s say Rio [Ngumoha] or Cody Gakpo as a left winger?
“Because actually Milos had to play almost as a left winger facing Hakimi and then there were four defenders left, which we usually have.
“I could also explain it as a 4-3-3 with Florian [Wirtz] on the right, Hugo [Ekitike] in the middle and Milos on the left, three midfielders and four defenders.
“But because they are defenders, people now see it as five – and that is the way I would describe it as well, by the way – but I think the margins are really small.
“Just try to think about it, what if we had tried to play with real wingers here today, how would that have looked like against Hakimi and Nuno Mendes?”
One of Slot’s personnel changes to face PSG following Saturday’s 4-0 drubbing by Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals was the latest benching of Salah, who did not come on at any point in France despite Liverpool making five second-half substitutions.
Pressed on why Salah - who will leave Liverpool this summer - was not used at all, the manager said: “I think in the last part of the game, it was more about surviving for us than there was ever a chance that we could score.
“Yeah, you never know, because last season we scored five minutes before the end, Harvey Elliott [scored] when I took Mo off.
“But I think this was a 20, 25 minutes where we were only defending and Mo has so much quality, but for Mo to be 20, 25 minutes defending inside his own box, I think it’s better for him to save his energy for a lot of games that are coming up in the upcoming weeks.”
Slot called on Liverpool’s fans, an increasing number of whom are now calling for him to be sacked, to help provide a special Anfield atmosphere in the second leg next week to try and overturn their daunting deficit to PSG and reach the Champions League semi-finals.
“Probably I have to refer to last season what gives me the best feeling, and I have to refer to the history of this club: how much impact Anfield can make for a performance,” he said.
We definitely need our fans to help us to create an atmosphere where we can rise to a better level
“We were outplayed here last season [in the last 16], which led to a 1-0 win from us, which was unbelievable. Paris Saint-Germain was by far the better team today and could have scored more than two goals.
“But the good thing was that the players of Liverpool today showed fighting spirit, kept going, every time or almost every time when they had a shot we had a lot of bodies behind the ball or protecting our box, which was necessary because what we said: if you don’t track back, if you don’t run back, these players, like the ones from [Manchester] City, are able to hurt you a lot.
“So, last season at Anfield we played a completely different game, after 10 minutes we could have been already 2-0 up.
“But we need to have a better performance and we definitely need our fans to help us to create an atmosphere where we can rise to a better level than we did in this game.”
Slot added: “Our fans do make a big difference for us and that’s also needed because I think it was completely clear today that we need our fans more than ever if we have to face this Paris Saint-Germain team.”
