Jamie Carragher says Arne Slott’s tactics were “hugely wrong” and says Virgil van Dijk will be begging him not to use a back five again after Liverpool’s loss to Paris Saint-Germain.
Liverpool were left with a huge task of reaching the last four of the Champions League after losing 2-0 to the holders in the quarter-final first leg, with Carragher saying they could easily have been “five or six” ahead.
Luis Enrique’s Liverpool were handed their 16th defeat of the season, with Desiree Douye and Juvica Kvaratscheria on target, but they missed successive chances to extend their lead and had two penalty appeals rejected by VAR.
Last season, Liverpool took Paris Saint-Germain to penalties in the last 16 stage, but a year later, with the Reds continuing to struggle, Carragher is concerned about the extent of PSG’s dominance.
Hugo Ekitike looks disappointed after Liverpool concede the second goal.
“It was like watching a lower league team,” he said on CBS Sports Golasso. “The rift within the class was very worrying from a Liverpool point of view.
“In some ways this is a great result because we should have been fifth or sixth, but considering last season the gap between the two teams was quite surprising.
“Yes, Liverpool were beaten by PSG and won 1-0, we know that, but the second leg at Anfield was a really close game between two top teams.
“Liverpool then spent £450m, probably a lot more than PSG spent in the summer. It’s worrying when you see there’s such a gap there. You wonder what’s going on? How did it get so bad?”
Slott switched to a back five to limit the French giants’ threat, but Carragher felt the decision backfired as he insisted on using a man-to-man mark, leaving Virgil van Dijk exposed alongside the struggling Ibrahima Konate.
Carragher continued: “The manager tried something, but tactically it was hugely wrong. It’s how we handled it.”
“It’s easy to say that after an event, but that’s what we do, we’re pundits and we speak after an in-game event.
“In fact, they were more open with the back five than they were with the back four because they went man-to-man all over the pitch and the three centre-backs had to cover the width of the pitch.
Arn Slott and Curtis Jones leave the field after Liverpool lose 2-0 to PSG
“Watching Virgil van Dijk tonight in the middle of the back three…usually when you get to a certain age you would think the middle of the back three would be perfect for me, with everyone in place and the back five providing a bit of protection.
“This was different. The defender ran into midfield. There was no one to mark him. And Van Dijk, 34, had to run in there and cross. He couldn’t do it.”
“People have criticized Van Dijk’s performance this season, but I think it has been tough. He plays in every game. The players next to him have been terrible all season and tonight was bad too, Konate. He makes mistakes every game.”
“It’s not easy to play with. I actually think Van Dijk is one of Liverpool’s better players, but I’ve never seen him so uncomfortable in a Liverpool shirt tonight in the back three in my life.”
“I think he would beg Arn Slott to never play that system again because he felt it was too harsh.
“But at the same time, I have to say, it wasn’t just Liverpool’s system that was wrong tactically. PSG were just out of this world. It was like watching Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.”
Slots: I was lucky to lose by only 2.
Slott was relieved to at least maintain a draw, but agreed with Carragher’s assertion that Liverpool were lucky not to have lost by a large margin.
He told TNT Sports: “They had more chances than they scored, so I’m glad we only lost 2-0. However, the first goal felt tough because we didn’t give anything away.”
“It’s very good that we’re still level. We can take them to Anfield depending on how much of a difference Anfield can make for us.
PSG’s Desire Doue celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Liverpool
“We wanted to create more, but we didn’t have much to create. They had the ball all over the place with incredible tempo.
“We tried to press them high up and sometimes it worked, but a lot of times they were able to play through us.
“When we were man-to-man, they put the ball in behind us. When we were in the low blocks, we conceded very few goals, but the goals were when we were in the low blocks.
“We stood here last season as well, and even though we won 1-0, the game was exactly the same. But the game at Anfield was completely different, so I’m glad we got a draw.”
Salah’s cold treatment explained
Slott also explained his decision to leave Mohamed Salah as an unused substitute after he was removed from the starting XI.
Mohamed Salah was on the bench against PSG
He said: “I think the last part of the game was more about us surviving than having a chance to score.
“I think it was 20 to 25 minutes where we were just playing defense.
“Mo has so many qualities, but he’s been defending in his own box for 20 to 25 minutes, so it’s better to save his energy for the upcoming games.”
