Arne Slot sent clear message to PSG that spoke volumes about big Liverpool worry

Arne Slot went for damage limitation as Liverpool played PSG in the Champions League, but it was a desperate move that worked more by luck than judgment in Paris

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot.(Image: Federico Pestellini/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

Liverpool fans were fearing the worst ahead of facing PSG. And, judging by the formation, the set-up and the performance from the Reds, so too were those tasked with getting a result.

Arne Slot has spent much of this season repeating a similar line about teams that set up in a low block, insisting that Liverpool can't do much more to break sides down who play that way.

For one thing, PSG didn't struggle with generating chances, and besides, when his back was against the wall, that is the way that the Liverpool boss opted to try and instruct his players.

Jamie Carragher described watching Liverpool play that way as like watching a lower league team, with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate clearly uncomfortable.

In theory, a back three should work nicely for Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez on the flanks, but the former in particular offered nothing, and Liverpool struggled to string more than two or three passes together.

Up top, Hugo Ekitike is exhausted as a result of Alexander Isak's injury forcing him to play almost every minute and Florian Wirtz was pretty anonymous. When the German did get the ball, he was 50 yards from goal with five PSG players around him.

Slot might argue that switching things up has given Liverpool a glimmer of hope for the second leg. But even he admitted that PSG should have won by more goals — and correlation is not causation.

Arne Slot and his Liverpool players after losing 2-0 to PSG in the Champions League.(Image: Xavier Laine/Getty Images)

Liverpool did only concede two goals and this time didn't collapse at the first sight of peril, but that was more about PSG's poor finishing than anything tactical. The home side's xG was 2.35 to Liverpool's 0.17.

It would be generous to suggest that the Reds have a hope of going through to face either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid. Even if you accept that premise, though, it is more by luck than judgment.

When Liverpool takes to the field against Fulham on Saturday, it will not be deploying a back three again. In the return leg against PSG, it needs to chase the tie and therefore won't be in that one either.

Making the switch felt like a desperate admission of the gulf that exists between PSG and Liverpool at the moment, which last summer's additions, including Isak and Wirtz, were meant to address.

In the short-term, perhaps the back five could have worked. Even then, though, it would not be a sustainable way of moving forward or changing the direction of a difficult season.

The last time Liverpool lined up with a back three in a league or European fixture was when Jurgen Klopp only had one center-back available in 2017, so he selected Gini Wijnaldum and Emre Can — two midfielders — on either side of Dejan Lovren.

When will the next time be? No matter who the manager is next season, it isn't going to be any time soon.

By changing things, Liverpool admitted even before it kicked off that it isn't on the same level as PSG. Everyone knows that, of course, but the message being so transparent has to be a worry.