Luis Enrique admits he was ‘surprised’ by Slot ArneHis decision to play five at the back Liverpool2-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in Champions League on Wednesday night.
PSG produced a dominant performance in Paris with Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scoring in each half for the Champions League holders.
For his team’s trip to the French capital, Slot opted to play a second three Ibrahima KonateVirgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez with Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez acting as full-backs.
However, Liverpool struggled to trouble PSG as they failed to register a shot on target and had just 26 per cent of possession.
Speaking after PSG’s win, Luis Enrique was asked if he was surprised by Slott’s decision to start with a defensive line-up.
“It’s a surprise because it’s the first time Arne Slot plays with three at the back this year,” Luis Enrique told Canal Plus.
“It showed that they are changing and trying something new, which is normal. We are used to opponents adapting to us, so don’t worry. We will look to win the second game.”
In a special interview with TNT SportsLuis Enrique added: “I know Arne Slott is a great coach, it’s the first time they play with five at the back.
“But we are used to seeing other teams change their formation to play against us, it’s normal.
“I think they played a lot, they are a physical team, very strong, they have individual, quality players and it was a very nice game. It is always a pleasure to play against Arne Slot and his teams because they try to play attacking football and it was nice to watch.’
Explaining his line-up after Liverpool’s defeat to PSG, Slott admitted he wanted to counter the threat posed by Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes on the wings.
“They’ve got pace from everywhere on the pitch so it doesn’t matter where you look, pace, incredible pace, Hakimi and Nuno Mendes are an incredible attacking threat, apart from everyone else, so we played Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, that was the thinking behind it and so I thought we’re two really tall and pressing players. If you press Hakimi and Nuno Mendes, they play and start running,” Slot said.
“They don’t start running from the road, they start running, it’s not even actually sprinting, it’s just a level above sprinting. You have to deal with that and usually players like Jeremie and Milos are better equipped for that than out-and-out wingers.
“But I think we could also see when we tried to press them high and aggressive, those were also the moments we completely fell apart, I think we had five or six big chances from them when we tried to be high and aggressive, that shows how difficult it is to play against this team.
Champions League quarter-final results
Sporting CP 0-2 Arsenal
Real Madrid 1-2 Bayern Munich
Barcelona 0-2 Atletico Madrid
Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Liverpool
“We try to do that in a high pressure and a low block means we have more defenders on the field, tighter, more aggressiveness, I think you noticed that by bringing in Joe, you also add the quality of the shot.
“There seems to be a lot of focus on the system, but what’s the difference if I played Rio (Ngumoha) or Cody Gakpo at left-back because Milos had to play left-back in front of Hakim and there were four defenders left.
“If I could also explain it as 4-3-3 with Florian on the left, Hugo in the middle and Milos on the left, three midfielders and four defenders, but because they are defensive-minded people see it as a five, that’s how I would describe it.
“I think the margins are really small, just try to think about it if we had tried to play with a real full-back here today what it would have looked like against Hakim and Nuno Mendes.”
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