Arne Slot defends Liverpool approach in PSG defeat: 'We were in survival mode'

Slot unexpectedly switched to a three-man central defence for the 2-0 defeat in Paris. Justin Setterfield/Getty Images Share full articleArne Slot defended his “survival mode” tactics in Liverpool’s Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain, but promised a different approach in next week’s second leg at Anfield. Slot unexpectedly switched to a three-man central defence for Liverpool’s quarter-final first leg in Paris and admitted there were times when his team were “completely ripped apart” during a 2-0 defeat. Liverpool recorded just 26 per cent possession at the Parc des Princes and had just three shots to PSG’s 18, with Mohamed Salah left on the bench throughout. Slot accepted the phrase “survival mode” applied both to their gameplan against PSG and to the pressure he and his Liverpool team face during a troubled campaign. “The way you describe it (survival mode) is maybe the perfect way to describe it,” the Liverpool coach told reporters in a post-match news conference. “We were in survival mode for periods of the game. Maybe for the period of the season we’re in, we are in survival mode. “Have you ever seen a team play tactics over here that didn’t allow PSG to have chance after chance after chance? They have been outplaying almost opponent they played here. There are different tactics, but the result is always the same: PSG blowing the opponent away. What if we had played with real wingers today? What would that have looked like against (Achraf) Hakimi and Nuno Mendes? “Now we bring the tie back to Anfield and hopefully we will hopefully show a different game. It’s clear and obvious we won’t play the same tactics as tonight.” Salah was kept on the bench even when Slot made a quadruple substitution in the second half and then turned to youngster Trey Nyoni in the closing stages. “I think in the last part of the game it was more about surviving than thinking we could score,” Slot said. “It was a 25 minutes when we were only defending. Mo has so much quality, but for Mo to be defending in his own box for 20/25, I think it’s better for him to save his energies for the next few weeks.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Before joining The Athletic as a senior writer in 2019, Oliver Kay spent 19 years working for The Times, the last ten of them as chief football correspondent. He is the author of the award-winning book Forever Young: The Story of Adrian Doherty, Football’s Lost Genius. Follow Oliver on Twitter @OliverKay