Liverpool travel to Paris on Wednesday with manager Arne Slot needing to find answers to a range of issues as he looks to keep his disappointing season afloat.
Lott’s side are set to face Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, almost 12 months after they were knocked out in a penalty shoot-out in the round of 16, becoming European champions for the first time.
A lot has changed in the intervening years for the Reds, who were on the verge of becoming Premier League champions in Slot’s debut season at Anfield this time last year.
I missed not only the fighting spirit, but the will to win a duel, to be there first, to make a pass or a cross or a finish difficult. That’s something we definitely need to do better on Wednesday.
In fact, exactly a year ago, Liverpool had just ended a 26-game unbeaten league run at Fulham, the club’s second top-tier defeat, eight games fewer than they had suffered in their dismal title defense so far this season.
The club’s thumping win in the FA Cup quarter-finals at Manchester City on Saturday marked their 15th defeat in all competitions this season, their most in a single season since 2014/15, when they lost 18 under Brandon Rodgers.
Saturday, April 11th at 5pm
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The Champions League now remains Liverpool’s only chance to turn their season around, although the under-pressure Slot will need to resolve these recurring issues if his side are to have any chance of eliminating the holders:
Where have Klopp’s mental monsters gone?
There have been too many instances this season of players bowing out at the slightest hint of adversity, as Saturday lunchtime saw the visitors fall 4-0 down 12 minutes into the second half after a bright 30 minutes at the Etihad.
Worryingly, captain Virgil van Dijk admitted his team-mates “gave up” against City, while Slott said after the game: “I definitely missed the fighting spirit in the first 10 minutes after half-time.”
“But in those 10-15 minutes I lost not only the fighting spirit, but the will to win the duel, the will to make it difficult to pass or cross or finish.
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The Sunday Supplement panel discusses Liverpool’s exit from the FA Cup after a heavy 4-0 loss to Manchester City and Arne Slot’s future if the Reds continue to struggle.
“That’s something we definitely have to do better on Wednesday.”
Dominik Szoboszlai agreed. “We need to fight, work hard and be there for each other. That’s what we’re missing sometimes.”
If we look past last season’s clash in Paris or Chelsea’s two late concessions during their recent visit to the French capital, Slot and his players are sure to face a number of difficult moments on Wednesday night.
How they react to an early goal at the Parc des Princes, for example, will be crucial to their overall chances as they will not be able to collectively drop their heads in the same way they did at the weekend.
Van Dijk must stand up
One thing we know for sure is that Liverpool can’t defend what they did at Manchester City to avoid a similar defeat on Wednesday evening.
Slot is almost certain to go with the same back four in Paris as he did in Manchester, with the only change being Jeremy Frimpong starting in place of right-back Joe Gomez.
But the players the Dutchman picks are not about personnel – to be fair, he has few options at the back – but they need to do a better job of their job, starting with Van Dijk.
Virgil van Dijk (right) endured a hot afternoon during Liverpool’s 4-0 loss to Manchester City on Saturday.
The skipper, who turns 35 in July, has faced scrutiny for the first time in his Anfield career this season, never more so than after a sprinkling of errors at City, where the centre-back’s clumsy penalty concession was the catalyst for four goals in just over 15 minutes before half-time.
Van Dijk failed to track down Antoine Semenho’s third goal for the home team at the start of the second half, and was not close enough to stop Norway striker Erling Haaland’s hat-trick.
“We need to defend much better,” was Slot’s analysis of Saturday’s full-time performance and he will be hoping his back line has learned its lesson ahead of what is sure to be a similar test this week.
Act more calmly in front of your goals
Liverpool stand no chance of causing havoc on Wednesday if their forwards continue to misfire in front of goal as they have for most of this season.
Saturday’s result may not have been much different, but the Reds were still denied a number of notable openings while remaining scoreless. This was especially true for Mohamed Salah, who missed a second-half penalty when the game was already over.
It was the forward’s second failure from the spot in a row after a penalty was blocked against Galatasaray, emblematic of both his and the team’s attacking struggles throughout the season.
Mohamed Salah reacts after failing to score a penalty kick against Manchester City.
“It would be nice if we could score a goal every now and then, as well as the chances we created,” Slott lamented on Saturday.
“I think that’s the second (penalty kick) he’s missed and Dominique Szoboszlai missed as well. Not only have we missed big chances, we’ve also missed a few penalties this season.”
“There was a very good chance for Mo in the first half when we had a quick counter-attack. Unfortunately the ball didn’t go in and that’s the nature of football. If you want to have a chance to win you have to score a goal.”
In contrast, strikers in the slot have been puffing up the line for most of the season, but the opposition appears to only need to get to their team’s box to score, often including a first-time goal attempt.
“Again, we’ve played against teams that perform a mile better than their xG, and that happens again and again and we’re under it every time.” The furious Reds boss added:
Salah has to play in Paris, is that the right decision?
As previously mentioned, Salah endured another difficult afternoon at the Etihad in Egypt’s first game since announcing he would leave the club at the end of the season.
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Liverpool manager Arne Slott has heaped further praise on Mohamed Salah after announcing he will leave the club at the end of the season.
But the decision has left Slot in trouble, and Liverpool’s appearance now threatens to become Salah’s farewell tour, of which the United legend must by definition be a part.
If Salah does not leave this summer, Slot could use him on the bench for the away game in the French capital and start in place of Frimpong, with the 33-year-old returning for the second leg at Anfield every Tuesday.
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Take a look at some of Mohamed Salah’s outrageous statistics from his time at Liverpool that you may not have known.
But that scenario is highly unlikely to happen, meaning whoever starts at right-back on Wednesday will have to contend with the dual threat of Nuno Mendes and Kviza Kvaratskelia with little protection from Salah.
Do Liverpool have the legs to take on the European champions?
Slot and his players faced the same challenge as they did this time last year, somehow securing a 1-0 first leg win thanks to a stunning display from Alisson Becker, and they know exactly what they will face under the lights of Paris on Wednesday.
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Arne Slott has answered tough questions following Liverpool’s 4-0 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup.
Luis Enrique’s lively and technically proficient outfit tore through their opponents right from kick-off that night, keeping the ball in play throughout the game and wearing down their opponents in the process, as is their trademark at home in Europe.
As we saw in the second half at the Etihad on Saturday, they are the type of team that has caused Liverpool a lot of problems this season. This will be a huge worry for Slot and his coaching staff as they prepare for the return trip to the French capital.
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WATCH FREE: Highlights of Liverpool vs Brighton match in Premier League.
The visitors need legs in midfield and their pressing game needs to be perfect as well. Sky Sports’ Adam Bate commented: “There were times when the forwards pushed high and the defense came down, opening up space that Liverpool couldn’t handle.
“The sight of Dominik Szoboszlai chasing his own shadow was a hallmark of the campaign.”
Liverpool and Slot will be hoping not to chase too many on Wednesday.
