Arne Slot has told his Liverpool squad they need to raise their levels up to ‘seven steps’ ahead of the clash against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
The Reds prepared for the clash with a 3-1 win over Southampton but it was far from a smooth afternoon with the Saints leading at half-time. But a second-half fightback with goals from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah (2) ensured Liverpool increased its lead at the top of the table to 16 points.
In contrast, ahead of the Champions League last-16 second leg on Tuesday, PSG enjoyed a more comfortable 4-1 victory over Rennes and managed to rest eight of the starting XI from the first leg at the Parc des Princes.
The Parisians have been bullish – boarding on arrogant – ahead of the return meeting in England, convinced they will overturn the 1-0 deficit. Slot knows after a slightly underwhelming performance against Southampton, his side will need to be significantly better if it’s to overcome PSG.
“I think it was maybe the first time this season that I saw this tempo,” said the Liverpool manager. “I think Paris St Germain showed the right example. They played Lille in incredible intensity, 4-0 up at half-time.
“Then they played against us and that intensity, I haven’t seen that before in any game this season. When I look at the game against Paris St Germain, we have to go one step up in terms of intensity. And if I compare it with the game today, we have to go three, four, five, six, seven steps up in terms of the intensity if we want to have any chance of reaching the next round.”
Slot made three half-time changes against Southampton with the team trailing, and Salah revealed post-match that the boss didn’t mince his words during the interval.
(Image: 2025 Chris Brunskill/Fantasista)
Asked what he said to the players, he replied: “I didn’t give them compliments at half-time, I can tell you. Maybe it was because I was sitting up there [in the stands] instead of being at the line because I know from experience, not that I’ve been suspended before, that when you watch a game over there, you always feel like, ‘Maybe I can even play in this game.’
“But if you are then at the line it’s always more tempo. But I don’t think I was wrong this time if I said at half-time that energy levels were far, far, far too low. That is what had to change and that’s why we made three substitutions just to, apart from bringing in quality, also create something.
“Nine out of 10 times when you take three out, the other eight are like, ‘Oh, something else should happen.’ That’s the only thing I could come up with at half-time to create something different for the second half.”
