Arne Slot challenges his Liverpool players to match Paris Saint-Germain or risk another humiliation like Saturday’s 4-0 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup
Liverpool F.C. Manager Arne Slot speaks during a press conference (Photo by Mustafa Yalçın/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Arne Slot has challenged his Liverpool players to “play from the first to the last second” at Paris Saint-Germain or risk another humiliation like Saturday’s FA Cup exit at Manchester City.
The Reds were humbled 4-0 in the Etihad quarter-final as Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick alongside Antoine Semenyo’s effort in a 20-minute spell either side of half-time.
Slot accepts that another performance at the Parc des Princes against European champions PSG will likely end in similarly damaging defeat on Wednesday night, but the 2025 Premier League winner is taking heart from his team’s first 35 minutes on Saturday lunchtime.
“What gives me belief? The first 35 minutes, because it is not the first setback we have had,” Slot said.
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“Losing 4-0, it’s not the first time we have 15 or 20 minutes in a game where we don’t play our best football and it is not the first time we immediately get punished by a goal, sometimes one or two.
“In this time it is four, the only four chances we give up by the way. But the first 35 minutes gives me a lot of confidence that we can go toe to toe with the teams [like Man City] and PSG that, for me, are the hardest to play against in open play. I have to say it like that, because of their quality and the way they are managed.
“But I can tell you if we have the 20 minutes we had at City tomorrow evening here, we will again concede four goals. Because these players here know how to act if we are having a 20-minute period like that. So it is a challenge for us to play from the first to the last second at the level we were at in the first 35 minutes.
“If not, it is going to be a really hard night again like it was on Saturday. Last year we completely deserved to lose 4-0 here or maybe more, but that is the beauty of football that we scored a goal in the 85th minute and it was almost like this was a robbery.”
Slot added: “I cannot debate that, it is completely true that performances have been very inconsistent throughout the whole season. I think the answer [to responding] lies in the history of Liverpool.
“This club has always shown that they stand up again in tough moments. We’ve had a lot of tough moments and stood up a few times, but then fallen down again. So we have to show that mentality again of just keep going and picking yourself up after a disappointment.
“Because this club has shown so many times that we can do special things in difficult circumstances. Especially if we can bring this to Anfield, as we saw last season and so many times.
“So the answer is already in the history of Liverpool but it’s easier said than done because we’ve shown far too many times this season that we have phases in games, like the 20 minutes at the Etihad. Now it is up to us to show the team that we have been [in bigger games].”