Arne Slot has called on Liverpool to deliver their best performance of the season to keep their Champions League dream alive.
The Reds compete against French giant PSG in a blockbuster in Anfield on Tuesday. Liverpool leads 1-0 from the first stage of the last 16 collision, but they were surpassed a week ago in Paris with the heroic deeds of keeper Alisson who held them in the draw.
Slot said that his side should be special to dump one of the “richest clubs” from the competition. When asked if they need their best performance of the season, he said: “I think so because they are the most complete team that we have confronted so far.”
The side of Slot runs away at home with the Premier League title, but believes that recording Luis Enrique's PSG might be an even greater task than encountering English rivals Arsenal and Manchester City. Liverpool previously attracted the campaign in Arsenal that this season was defeated at home and away.
“What I mean by complete is that we are confronted with Arsenal and City,” he added. “Not that there are big margins, but the intensity they played on, combined with the quality because we have the richest clubs here, maybe there is a club a little further.
“They have so much quality and a great manager because he plays the team in a way that is not easy to play against. He gets the best out of every player and incredible working speed and we have to be at our best.
“But for example, we had no possession in City Away – the other richest club in the world together with Paris Saint -Germain – but at home we had a completely different version against City than gone.”
Slot hopes that the Reds will enjoy more possession on Anfield than in the Parc des Princes. The Liverpool has even seen how his party could benefit from the Parisians after he did the last time.
“We hope that we will have more of the ball, but again, if you saw them playing, they are intense without the ball, which led them to create a few chances, they took the ball away from us,” he said. “But in the 87th minute we played it for a long time and they were open, when I saw the game back, I saw a few moments that we could have had opportunities if we did better.
“The thing is, they have a little more exhausted than I wanted, constantly pressed and if we don't get the ball, you are too tired to make a perfect exeïm, that's why it makes sense to have the ball a little more and hopefully it opens a little more. I don't agree with people who were poor, don't give it.”
Cody Gakpo will be in the team after his return yesterday with the first team after repairing an ankle injury. The Dutchman started last month in the dramatic 2-2 Draw against Everton in Goodison Park.
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