Arne Slot makes alarming Liverpool admission as confidence hits 'all-time low'

Liverpool was beaten 2-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of its Champions League quarterfinal, with Arne Slot admitting his players were fortunate to avoid a heavier defeat

Arne Slot has made an alarming admission(Image: Getty Images)

Arne Slot acknowledges Liverpool was lucky to escape with only a 2-0 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain after its Champions League quarterfinal first leg at the Parc des Princes.

Strikes in each half from Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia were sufficient to hand the reigning European champions a commanding lead ahead of next week's second leg at Anfield. However, PSG squandered numerous gilt-edged opportunities late in the match to effectively end the tie, while Liverpool also survived two penalty appeals.

While a 2-0 scoreline is not impossible to overturn, Liverpool's 16th loss of the campaign across all competitions means Slot's side face an uphill battle at Anfield next week. The Dutchman was swift to admit that his team was second best in Paris.

"If you reflect on the whole game, I think we are lucky with only losing two-nil," Slot told TNT Sports.

"The first goal felt hard. I think it was very good for us, we are still in the tie. We can bring them to Anfield, and we know how good Anfield can be for us."

Liverpool was indebted to Giorgi Mamardashvili for preventing a heavier defeat, with the Georgian goalkeeper making a series of crucial saves. Ousmane Dembele nearly added a third in the closing stages, only to be thwarted by the woodwork.

Paris Saint-Germain dominated Liverpool on Wednesday(Image: Getty Images)

Slot deployed a 5-3-2 system in an attempt to contain PSG, but his team was underwhelming going forward, failing to muster a single effort on target in a Champions League fixture for the first time in six years.

When the former Feyenoord boss was questioned about whether his side generated sufficient opportunities, he responded: "Yes and no, yes because we want to create much more chances, no because there was not a lot to create for us.

"We tried many times to get them high, but they were able to play through us when we went man-to-man.

"I think that happened in the second half as well. There were a few times with players in promising positions."

Speaking on Match of the Day, former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock claimed the team's confidence is at an "all-time low."

He said: "Arne Slot is not going to get sacked (fired) for losing 2-0 at PSG, one of the best teams in Europe, but the defeats are stacking up, and there's the danger there could be more damage next week.

"It feels like Liverpool's confidence is at an all-time low.

"We've seen some memorable European comebacks at Anfield before now — from 3-0 down against Barcelona in 2019 to win the second leg 4-0, for example — but it feels like they are a million miles away from doing anything like that at the moment."