LIVERPOOL, England: Arne Slot believes Liverpool have given Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) a clear warning about their true capabilities after thrashing Galatasaray 4-0 to book a Champions League quarter-final meeting with the defending champions.
PSG previously eliminated the Slot team on penalties on their way to lifting the trophy for the first time last season.
Liverpool were at the top of the English Premier League (EPL) at the time, but are now going through a more challenging second season under Slot’s management.
The Reds are currently fifth in the league and have to bounce back after losing 0-1 in the first leg in Istanbul.
But there was no longer any doubt about the outcome of the match once Dominik Szoboszlai equalised on aggregate in the 25th minute at Anfield.
Hugo Ekitike, Ryan Gravenberch and Mohamed Salah added goals in the second half, with Salah also missing a penalty as Liverpool bounced back in style after being booed by fans following their 1-1 draw with Tottenham earlier.
“They haven’t lowered their standards. It’s hard for them to improve any further, but they’ve been impressive so far,” Slot said of PSG.
“But I think after tonight, they’re not excited to face us either.”
Liverpool won 1-0 at Parc des Princes last season despite being clearly pressured by their opponents.
However, things were different at Anfield when PSG won 1-0 despite Liverpool showing a better performance before losing on penalties.
“We were really dominated when we played away. I thought we played great at Anfield but in the end we lost on penalties,” Slot stressed.
Slot’s decision to rest several key players against Spurs last weekend proved to be fruitful.
Salah was among those who returned to the starting line-up and scored his 50th Champions League goal after being disappointed by failing to convert a penalty and several great chances.
“I think that shows his mentality. He missed a penalty before half-time and that was a difficult moment because leading 1-0 after 45 minutes doesn’t really reflect the game,” he said.
“But he came back in the second half with a great performance. The passes to Hugo were of great quality and the goals he scored were his signature.”