Liverpool surprised manager Luis Enrique with a new formation to take on PSG on Wednesday night, but it couldn’t stop his team from scoring a commanding victory.
Luis Enrique and PSG faced a new-look Liverpool, but still managed to secure a comfortable victory.
Luis Enrique admitted he was “surprised” to see Liverpool’s back five, having never seen Arne Slott play in that formation this season.
The Reds rolled the dice on Wednesday night to counter PSG’s threat, but ultimately failed in Paris. They were on the back foot, but given the French champions’ superiority, they were definitely lucky to only lose 2-0.
The backline consisted of Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez, with Milos Kerkes and Jeremy Frimpong forming the back five when not in possession. That didn’t stop the European champions from dominating that night, scoring in either half.
Enrique, aiming for his third Champions League title as manager, was reluctant to experiment with Liverpool, knowing that his opponents always tend to innovate, but it did little to stop the Parisian giants.
“It was a surprise because it was the first time this year that Arne Slott played in a back three,” the Spanish coach told Canal Plus. “It showed that they have changed and are trying something new, but that’s normal. We’re used to the opposition adapting to us, so we don’t have to worry. We want to win the second leg as well.”
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Enrique continued to tell TNT Sports: “I know Arne Slott is a great coach. It’s the first time they’re playing with a back five. But we’re used to seeing other teams change their formation to play against us, and that’s normal.”
“I think they played a great game. They’re a very physical team, very strong, character and quality players, so it was a great game. It’s always fun to play against Arne Slott and his team. They try to play attacking football, so it was fun to watch.”
Liverpool hoped to adjust their formation to contain players like Achraf Hakimi
Slott himself is under pressure as the Champions League is the club’s last chance to win silver this season. Given PSG’s form, they are always up against it and will have to try to overturn the two-goal deficit when they return to Anfield next week.
The Liverpool manager admitted his thought process is centered around trying to contain PSG duo Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes, who have long been a big threat in the side.
“They have pace from everywhere on the pitch, so wherever you look you can see they have incredible speed. Hakimi and Nuno Mendes, apart from other players, are incredible offensive threats. So we played with Jeremy Frimpong and Milos Kerkes. That was the idea behind it.”
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