Liverpool lost to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals in Paris, but Arne Slott admitted his side were the second best.
Arne Slott gave a brutally honest assessment of Liverpool’s performance against PSG (Image: TNT Sports)
Arne Slott admitted Liverpool were lucky to avoid a heavy defeat at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain after beating Parc des Princes 2-0 in the Champions League quarter-finals.
First-half goals from either Désiré Duet and Hviča Kvaratschelia were enough to give the reigning European champions a healthy advantage heading into next week’s return leg at Anfield. However, PSG missed a number of good chances in the final stages of the game and were able to tie the score over Liverpool, who also withstood two penalty kicks.
The 2-0 deficit is not insurmountable, but it was Liverpool’s 16th defeat of the season in all competitions, and Slott’s side have a mountain to climb at Anfield next week.
And the Dutchman was quick to admit that his team was the underdog in Paris.
read more: Arne Slott’s call went unrewarded as Liverpool lost at PSG – 5 talking pointsread more: PSG penalty decision overturned, Liverpool receive VAR decision from UEFA
“Looking back at the whole match, I think we were lucky to only lose 2,000,” Slott told TNT Sports.
“The first goal felt difficult. I think it was very good because we were still level. We can take us to Anfield and we know how great Anfield is for us.”
Liverpool had Giorgi Mamadashvili to thank for the Georgian’s string of saves to keep the scores low. Ousmane Dembele almost added a third goal in the final moments of the match, but was denied by the post.
Liverpool lost to PSG but survived with a draw in the quarter-finals (Image: Justin Setterfield)
Slott kept PSG at bay with a 5-3-2 formation, but his side were disappointing in attack, failing to register a single shot on target in a Champions League match for the first time in six years.
When asked if his team created enough chances, the former Feyenoord manager replied: “Yes, and no, yes, because I would like to create more chances, and no, because we didn’t have many to create.”
“We tried a lot to get them up high, but when we went man-to-man they were able to break through us. I think that happened in the second half as well. We had guys in promising positions a few times.”
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