Liverpool lost 4-0 on aggregate to Paris Saint-Germain, knocking them out of the Champions League and putting further pressure on Arne Slott’s position as manager.
Jamie Carragher couldn’t ‘believe’ Arn Slott’s decision (Image: CBS Sports)
Jamie Carragher was “appalled” by manager Arn Slott’s decision to start the undercooked Alexander Isak rather than Mo Salah in Liverpool’s must-win Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain. Isak, who had not started a game since December, started ahead of Salah as the Reds lost 2-0 on aggregate after a disastrous first-leg defeat in France.
Liverpool ultimately lost by the same scoreline at Anfield, but Slott appeared to admit his mistake when he sent off Isak at half-time. Salah came on as a substitute in the first half after Hugo Ekitike suffered what appeared to be a serious injury.
Ahead of the second leg, Carragher admitted he “couldn’t believe” Slott’s decision to bench Salah, who recently announced it would be his final season at Anfield. “I can’t believe he (Salah) isn’t playing. I don’t understand why,” the Liverpool legend told CBS Sports.
“The manager has his reasons, but Isak is not fit at all. Mo Salah didn’t play in the first leg, so he’s different from some of the players who played last week and then played at the weekend in the Premier League.”
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“He played in the Premier League, he scored goals, he’s still part of Liverpool and he’s probably Liverpool’s best goalscorer. He’s used to the system, but Isak has never really played for Ekitike before.”
“I don’t think Arne Slott is the type of manager who thinks, ‘I remember what you did to me when you called me out in public a few months ago.’
“Of past managers, you might think of Alex Ferguson…I don’t think Arne Slott, but is that because he’s already announced his departure? And it’s like, ‘I’m going to pretty much go with the players who are going to be here next year.’
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Alexander Isak is a surprise addition to the starting XI (Image: Michael Regan – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
“I don’t know, that’s all I can think of, but it still doesn’t make sense because it’s about this moment and I’m stunned that Mo Salah is not playing.”
Slott explained his decision to leave Salah on the bench, saying he wanted two strikers who could “play” with Liverpool chasing two goals. The Reds manager also defended his decision to start Isak, saying after the game: “I think he was ready, and if I didn’t think he was ready, I wouldn’t have played him.”
However, no goals were scored and the team ended the season without a trophy. Liverpool’s focus will now be solely on qualifying for next season’s Champions League, starting with Sunday’s Merseyside derby. It will be Everton’s first visit to the new Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Arne Slott eventually brought on Mo Salah (Image: Alex Livesey – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Despite losing to PSG for the second year in a row, Carragher was encouraged by Liverpool’s much improved performance. “PSG are a much better team than Liverpool at the moment, we’ve seen that over the last two years,” he added.
“But I can accept what we saw tonight, certainly in the sense that we saw the performance in the second half. That’s what you expect from Liverpool in a European game at home. If they’re better than you, that’s fair enough.”
“But there was an intensity to the play, certainly in the first 25 minutes and the start of the second half. We haven’t seen much of that all season and that always has to be Liverpool’s style of football, no matter who the players are or who the manager is.”
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