Liverpool manager Arne Slott is determined to make an impact on the Champions League stage after the Reds made an impressive start to the season after being eliminated in the last 16 next season.
Jamie Carragher happened to meet Liverpool manager Arne Slott during the summer break, and the Dutch manager introduced his former player to his wife and family as a “Champions League winner”, a comment that struck a chord with pundits.
The Reds won Premier League glory last season, but their European hopes were ended in the last 16 by eventual winners PSG. The Merseysiders have a proud history on the European stage and are England’s most successful team, last dominating the continent in 2019.
Slott will be looking to make an impact on the Champions League stage, but Carragher realized his exploits in Europe had led to his introduction when he met the Liverpool manager and his family.
Carragher was part of the team that produced the Istanbul Miracle in 2005. He will be playing in another final in two years’ time and the former player believes it shows Slott’s desire to succeed in Europe is burning strong.
He told Sky Sports: “Last summer, I happened to meet Slott when we were both on holiday. We were with our families, so I thanked him for what I had done last season and he introduced me to his wife and children as the Champions League winner.
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“I felt like he was hinting that that was the next step. I felt it exactly as he said it. We won the league but now we want the Champions League and that’s what’s on my mind. You know he wants that.”
Liverpool defeated both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid at Anfield, winning three of their four games to start this year’s tournament. The last time they reached a final was in 2022 under Jurgen Klopp, and Carragher admits that given the huge investment made in the summer, expectations will be high with a place in the semi-finals being the bare minimum.
Despite defeating PSG in the first leg in the French capital last season, the defeat at Anfield forced a penalty shootout, which the Parisians won. PSG won praise for their style last season, defeating Aston Villa and Arsenal, as well as Inter Milan in the final.
And Carragher is aware of Slott’s love for the Paris side, even suggesting he might be able to put up with a Champions League defeat to PSG given the way they played.
“I think Slott is a bit obsessed with the Champions League,” he said. “Last season, he talked a lot about PSG after losing to PSG and he talked about them so much that he praised the loss to that team and the fact that PSG won. And the way they won, the way they played in the final, I think he loves a coach whose team plays like that.”
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