Liverpool has a commanding lead in the Premier League table and attention now turns to the Champions League tie with PSG. But Arne Slot is still refusing to get carried away.
“I don’t think it changed from the start,” Slot told TNT Sports when he was asked about how he deals with potentially rising expectations. “We wanted to be the best possible version of ourselves and we wanted to win as many games as possible. That is what we are still trying to do.
“It is not so difficult to manage expectations because we had a very difficult game against Wolves where we could just beat them 2-1. It was difficult for us at Villa. We have not played many games that were easy for us.”
Liverpool is 13 points clear of Arsenal in the Premier League and it topped the Champions League group phase. Its reward for that, though, is a tricky-looking last-16 clash with PSG, who is one of the favorites, alongside the Reds, to go all the way.
“The boys know and feel that in this league, you have to be at the top of your game every single minute to get a result,” Slot added. “And then, 10 games is still a long way to go.
“We are facing PSG which is one of the strongest teams in Europe so that is going to be a challenge. I don’t think I need to calm the players down. They know how difficult the task is in front of them because they know how difficult it has been to win our Champions League games and our Premier League games.”
(Image: Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Liverpool.com says: Slot continues to take things one step at a time, which is the right approach. At some point, he will have to accept that the league title is edging closer but for now, the focus can be on Europe.
The weekend’s home game with Southampton should be won comfortably and the Carabao Cup final is not too far away, but PSG should be seen as a big opportunity. Liverpool has shown it can beat the best around by winning 2-0 against Real Madrid and Manchester City earlier this season.
Across the two legs, it is a marginal favorite to beat PSG and would then be well-positioned to go far in the competition. Given there is a buffer at the top of the Premier League table, winning both trophies shouldn’t be out of the question.
