Arne Slot was left contemplating Liverpool’s misfortune as it exited the Champions League at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, echoing a sentiment once expressed by former manager Jurgen Klopp about the role of luck.
Slot reflected on the outcome following Liverpool’s inability to build on its 1-0 victory over PSG in the first leg in Paris. Despite a stellar performance from Reds’ keeper Alisson Becker at the Parc des Princes, where he made nine crucial saves, his heroics weren’t enough to keep Liverpool’s advantage intact.
At Anfield on Tuesday, Liverpool found itself trailing early on and despite applying relentless pressure for 120 minutes, it couldn’t overturn PSG‘s lead. The match went to penalties, where Liverpool’s fate was sealed by two missed shots from the spot – including a devastated Darwin Nunez.
Post-match, Slot lamented the absence of fortune that had previously favored his team in France, now seemingly eluding them back home. “It feels a bit unfair to go out in this round already if you were top of the table and face a team like PSG,” he remarked. “Last week we had a bit of luck, we didn’t have it today.”
Alisson racked up an impressive 16 saves over the two matches against PSG, a record for a UEFA Champions League knockout tie since Manuel Neuer’s performance for Bayern Munich against Real Madrid in the 2016-17 quarter-finals, according to Opta.
Both Slot and his predecessor Klopp have frequently highlighted Alisson as a key factor in Liverpool’s recent triumphs, acknowledging their over-reliance on him is less than ideal.
(Image: UEFA via Getty Images)
Following a 2-2 draw with Manchester United and a narrow 1-0 loss to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg in early January, Slot emphasized that Liverpool should not be at the mercy of chance. “What can we improve? Increasing the margin, because otherwise you’ll always depend on a bit of luck or a bit of being unlucky as well or certain decisions made by the referee,” he remarked.
“We must make sure that we don’t depend on those moments any more and that’s the next step we want to make if we want to not depend on luck or bad luck.”
Klopp, however, had already sensed trouble back in 2021. Despite a resounding 5-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford in October of that year, the German was incensed, feeling his team was once again leaning too heavily on Alisson to clinch the win.
(Image: Getty Images)
“We have to improve, we know that,” Klopp said. “The world is like this – you win 5-0 against United and everything is perfect. Well, it was not. United had clear-cut chances, which we gave them. We should not rely on luck or Ali (goalkeeper, Alisson). We could have done better. This is how we spoke at half-time, even though we were 4-0 up.
“It is really important you believe you have to play better, otherwise you open up the gate for them. I saw the first half, we gave too much away. We have to improve, in general.”
Despite any disappointment from the performance, Liverpool remains comfortably ahead in the Premier League race, with a 15-point lead over Arsenal, who have a game in hand. The Reds’ next challenge is the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United at Wembley on Sunday.
