Arne Slot believes his Liverpool side can still produce a special performance against Paris St-Germain in the Champions League quarter-final second leg on Tuesday.
PSG enters the match at Anfield with a two-goal advantage after a convincing victory in Paris last week. Slot remains adamant that the Reds can achieve a comeback.
Belief Despite the Odds
Liverpool have only progressed on two of 13 occasions when attempting to overcome a deficit of two or more goals from an away European first leg. The previous instances were against Auxerre in 1991 and Barcelona in 2019.
“In the last 50 home games we have played, 36 times we were able to score two goals or more. Yes, we don’t play PSG in all of those home games but the opponents we have had across the Premier League and Champions League are very strong,” said Slot.
“Yes, there is a belief we can do special things but we also need to be very, very, very special because we are playing against the champions of Europe, so that makes the task more complicated but not impossible,” he added.
Anfield’s Role
Slot has called upon the Anfield crowd to inspire his side, similar to their role in the previous round against Galatasaray.
“They [the fans] will be just as important as our performance,” he said.
“I think we have to be much much better than last week, and their players are experienced and have experienced Anfield a year ago [when they went through on penalties].
“They know what is coming up so I can only hope that our fans find an extra gear compared to last year when the atmosphere was unbelievable.
“But I think our fans are up for it and I think I can trust them [to be] even louder than last season.”
Drawing on Past Performances
Slot addressed concerns about the team’s performance in France, where they failed to manage a shot on target, admitting they were “lucky” to only lose 2-0. He emphasised the team’s potential for improvement, citing examples of past performances.
“You want one example, two, 10 or 200? After the first half at the Etihad [in the 4-0 FA Cup defeat against Manchester City] did you expect City to be three goals up after 20 minutes of the second half?” said Slot.
“Against Galatasaray, we could have scored eight or nine at home, so the amount of times that we have shown we can be much better than we were at PSG, that’s clear.
“A goal can change momentum, which happened in a negative way at the Etihad and in a positive way on Saturday [against Fulham] at Anfield.”
Szoboszlai’s Confidence
Dominik Szoboszlai echoed Slot’s belief, stating that he and his team-mates are committed to keeping Liverpool’s Champions League hopes alive.
“I believe completely because I know what we are able to do, what kind of players we have and what kind of mentality we have,” the Hungarian said.
“We’ve shown it many times, but maybe not every time, and that’s what
Arne Slot’s Liverpool were eliminated by PSG in the Champions League last season.