PARIS (AP) — Out of the Premier League title race. Routed in the FA Cup. Mounting questions over the manager's future. A star striker set to leave. A disgruntled captain saying his team gave up.
Liverpool
heads into the first leg of its Champions League quarterfinal against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday in disarray.
“We need 90 minutes full energy and full commitment otherwise we will have no chance,” Liverpool attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz said Tuesday at a news conference.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot knows what to expect from the outset at Parc des Princes.
“PSG under (coach) Luis Enrique do not give you a second to have the ball comfortable on your feet,” Slot said, calling PSG one of the top two sides in the world from open play. “It’s press, press, press every second of the game.”
But Slot hopes six-time champion Liverpool can draw on its vast European experience to keep the tie alive heading to Anfield for next Tuesday's second leg.
“We've shown a few times we can do special things in difficult circumstances,” he said. “The answer is already in the history of Liverpool, but it’s easier said than done.”
It was a far different dynamic when the sides met in the last 16 last year.
Back then, Liverpool was romping to the Premier League title, new manager Slot was the toast of the city and Mohamed Salah was at his brilliant best. By contrast, PSG struggled to get out of the Champions League group stage and observers were questioning Luis Enrique's methods.
PSG scraped through on penalties against Liverpool after an intense battle over two legs.
Knocking Liverpool out at Anfield gave PSG the belief it could finally win the Champions League. By contrast, Liverpool's agonizing defeat marked the start of Salah's decline and Liverpool's gradual slump as it lost the League Cup final soon after.
Liverpool began the current campaign poorly as Salah's goals dried up and he clashed with Slot.
PSG is closing in on another French title but Liverpool is fifth in the Premier League, 21 points behind leader Arsenal. Following a crushing 4-0 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup quarterfinals on Saturday, captain Virgil van Dijk said his team “gave up” and he apologized to fans.
Slot called it a humbling loss and, while he did not agree with Van Dijk's conclusion, felt his captain was justified in speaking out.
"I think it is good for a captain to have a strong and firm reaction," Slot said. "Hopefully as a team we can show a strong and firm reaction tomorrow.”
The Dutchman is reportedly clinging onto his job. Salah will be gone next season and, if PSG knocks out Liverpool, a trophy-less season may threaten Slot's position.
Wirtz said the players back Slot.
“Yes, of course. The team should believe in the manager because they won the league last season," said Wirtz, who joined in the offseason from Bayer Leverkusen.
Liverpool forward Hugo Ekitiké returns to face his old side as a player transformed.
He joined PSG four years ago as a promising 19-year-old but struggled to make an impact in a team containing Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi. He scored only four goals in 33 games in two disappointing seasons.
“You could already see the qualities he had," PSG midfielder Vitinha said. "It just wasn't the right context for him at the time.”
A move to Eintracht Frankfurt changed Ekitiké's fortunes and, after scoring 22 goals last season, he joined Premier League champion Liverpool for 69 million pounds (then $93.5 million).
He has netted 17 times and has broken into the France team.
"After leaving PSG he did well in Germany and England," Luis Enrique said when asked about Ekitiké. "He was very young when he was here and he has improved a lot.” ___
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