Jamie Carragher said Arne Slot got his tactics “massively wrong” and that Virgil van Dijk will be pleading with him not to use a back five again after Liverpool were outclassed by Paris Saint-Germain.
Liverpool face a difficult task to reach the Champions League semi-finals after a 2-0 quarter-final first-leg defeat to the holders, a scoreline Carragher suggested could easily have been “five or six”. Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored as Luis Enrique’s side handed Liverpool their 16th defeat of the season, though PSG missed several chances to extend their lead and had two penalty appeals turned down by VAR.
Carragher, speaking on CBS Sports Golazo, said the gulf in class was alarming given Liverpool’s recruitment and spending. “That was like watching a team from a lower division,” he said. “The gulf in class was very worrying from a Liverpool point of view… Liverpool then go and spend £450m, probably a lot more than PSG spent in the summer. To see the gulf there is worrying. You think, ‘how’s it got to that? How’s it got that bad?'”
Slot switched to a back five in an attempt to contain PSG, but Carragher felt the plan backfired because Liverpool played man-to-man across the pitch, leaving the three centre-backs stretched and Virgil van Dijk exposed alongside Ibrahima Konaté. “The manager has tried something but he’s got it massively wrong tactically,” Carragher said. “They were actually more open with the back five than they would be 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.”
Carragher added that the system forced van Dijk, 34, into uncomfortable covering runs. “Normally, middle of a back three, that’s perfect for me… This was different. Defenders were jumping into midfield. There was no one to mark. And Van Dijk… was having to run in there and run across. He couldn’t do it.” He defended van Dijk against season-long criticism, placing more blame on Konaté’s inconsistent form: “He plays every game. The fella next to him has been awful all season and was poor again tonight, Konaté. He makes a mistake every game.”
Despite his tactical criticisms, Carragher also praised PSG’s performance. “It’s not just the system of Liverpool and getting it wrong tactically, PSG were absolutely out of this world. It was like watching Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.”
Slot accepted Liverpool were fortunate to lose by only two and acknowledged PSG had many more chances. Speaking to TNT Sports, he said: “We’re lucky to only lose 2-0 as they had more chances than they scored, although the first goal felt harsh as we didn’t give anything away. It’s very good we’re still in the tie. We can bring them to Anfield with how much a difference Anfield can make for us.”
He described PSG’s ball circulation and tempo as a problem for Liverpool’s attempts to press, noting the team were sometimes able to play through Liverpool’s press or exploit man-to-man situations with passes in behind. Slot compared the first-leg pattern to last season’s meeting in Paris, pointing out the second leg at Anfield the previous year was very different and suggesting hope remains with home advantage to come.
Slot also explained his decision to leave Mohamed Salah on the bench and not bring him on late, saying the final phase of the game was about survival and Liverpool spent 20-25 minutes defending deep. “Mo has so many qualities but him defending for 20 to 25 minutes in his own box, it’s better to save his energy for the upcoming games,” he said.