Arne Slot challenges Liverpool players to “play from the first to the last second” at PSG
The Reds were thrashed 4-0 in the quarter-final at the Etihad, with Erling Haaland scoring a hat-trick and Antoine Semenyo also on target during a devastating 20-minute spell either side of half-time
Arne Slot has urged his Liverpool players to “play from the first to the last second” against Paris Saint-Germain or risk another humiliation like Saturday’s FA Cup exit at Manchester City.
The Reds were thrashed 4-0 in the quarter-final at the Etihad, with Erling Haaland scoring a hat-trick and Antoine Semenyo also on target during a devastating 20-minute spell either side of half-time.
Slot admits a repeat performance at Parc des Princes could lead to another heavy defeat against European champions PSG on Wednesday, but the Dutchman is encouraged by his side’s opening 35 minutes at the Etihad.
“What gives me belief? The first 35 minutes, because it is not the first setback we have had,” Slot said.
“Losing 4-0, it’s not the first time we have 15 or 20 minutes in a game where we don’t play our best football and it is not the first time we immediately get punished by a goal, sometimes one or two.
“In this time it is four, the only four chances we give up by the way. But the first 35 minutes gives me a lot of confidence that we can go toe to toe with the teams [like Man City] and PSG that, for me, are the hardest to play against in open play. I have to say it like that, because of their quality and the way they are managed.
“But I can tell you if we have the 20 minutes we had at City tomorrow evening here, we will again concede four goals. Because these players here know how to act if we are having a 20-minute period like that. So it is a challenge for us to play from the first to the last second at the level we were at in the first 35 minutes.
“If not, it is going to be a really hard night again like it was on Saturday. Last year we completely deserved to lose 4-0 here or maybe more, but that is the beauty of football that we scored a goal in the 85th minute and it was almost like this was a robbery.”
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