Arne Slot remained upbeat about Liverpool’s future, despite their Champions League hopes coming to a miserable end against Paris-Saint Germain.
The Reds were unable to pull off a famous comeback at Anfield, as they fell to a 2-0 defeat in their quarter-final second leg against PSG, condemning them to a 4-0 aggregate loss.
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Trailing 2-0 from the first leg, Arne Slot’s side put in a spirited display at home, and kept the score at 0-0 until deep into the second half.
It looked as though the hosts had been given a golden opportunity to pull a goal back when they were awarded a penalty in the 64th minute after Alexis Mac Allister went down inside the box.
However, there was a cruel twist in store, as the penalty decision was then overturned following a controversial VAR call.
That proved to be the final nail for Liverpool, as Ousmane Dembele then grabbed PSG’s opener on 72 minutes to all-but secure the tie, before doubling his side’s lead by adding another in stoppage time.
Slot buoyed despite another setback
Liverpool’s European exit marked a new low in a disappointing season, as their final trophy hope was eliminated.
A catastrophic Premier League title defence means the Reds have no chance of winning the league, while they are out of the FA Cup and failed to win the Carabao Cup.
That is despite a huge summer transfer window that saw them shell out £446m on new recruits, which included twice breaking the British transfer record to sign Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, although neither are yet to justify their hefty price tag.
There now appears to be another big summer on the horizon, with Mohamed Salah and Andrew Robertson both set to depart.
And while a miserable season has seen head coach Slot face huge pressure on his position, he remained remarkably upbeat in his post-match interview following the PSG defeat.
Praising his side’s performance, he said: “Last week was of course tough and very difficult, but we showed in a week that we can improve a lot and it is a big compliment to the players that they showed how they could be.
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“The players kept on going, even after going 1-0 down and that is a big compliment to them.
“If you look at xG we should have scored two but didn’t score one and that has happened far too often this season.”
Liverpool’s remaining focus is now the Premier League, as they look to secure Champions League qualification by holding onto fifth place.
And Slot chose to focus on the positives here, as he reminded fans that £125m summer signing Alexander Isak will be available, who has recently returned from a broken leg.
Despite Isak manging to play the first 45 minutes against PSG, there was a hugely worrying moment as Hugo Ekitike was stretchered off in the first half, with his World Cup hopes now in huge doubt.
On the Reds quest to secure a top-five finish, Slot said: “Of course. That is what we have to play for now in the coming weeks.
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“The good thing is Alex (Isak) is back, well able to make minutes.”
Slot teases big summer
Continuing to focus on the positives, Slot then hinted that Liverpool could be set to spend big again in the summer, as he acknowledged that they could have to make several big replacements.
As well as Salah and Robertson’s confirmed exits, Curtis Jones, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Alexis Mac Allister are among the players who face uncertain futures on Merseyside.
He continued: “Much has been said that the club is in a transition.
“The club has sold eight to ten players to make money to sign five or so very talented players.
“We have to sell to buy. We are losing some players on a free transfer. It is a big challenge in the summer but the club has shown this model works.
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“As I said many times the future looks very good, especially if we can sign players after good players leaving this summer.”
