Liverpool manager Arne Slott talks about the Champions League Lost to Paris Saint-Germain Last year may have been the season in which his team won the Premier League title.
The Merseyside club were eliminated in the round of 16 by eventual champions PSG, despite leading the standings at the end of the league.
Liverpool have won a record-tying 20th English title, but their defense has collapsed this term, and Slott, in his second year in charge, has come under scrutiny.
With the team sitting sixth in the Premier League table, 14 points behind first-placed Arsenal, Slott suggested Liverpool had struggled to cope with the Champions League and Premier League this season and benefited from an early exit from Europe last year.
“Again, this is not a popular opinion that I am going to say now, but perhaps the reason we won the league last season was because we had to play Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16,” Slott said ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League match between Liverpool and Qarabag. “Because, you know, they beat us and we had time every week to prepare for the next game.
“Maybe if we had to double Arsenal’s program and they dropped a few points in that period, that might have helped them win the league.”
Liverpool are struggling in the Premier League (Saturday’s loss to Bournemouth was their seventh defeat of the season), but they are well placed to advance directly to the Round of 16 of the Champions League.
The six-time European champions are fourth in the standings and a win over Qarabag would guarantee them a top-eight finish and a place in the finals. enter the knockout. Domestically, Slott said the Champions League had an impact on Liverpool.
“The biggest difficulty we have is that we have to play in both leagues. By the way, that’s what we want, but too often we drop points or actually lose after a Champions League game,” he said.
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