Every word Arne Slot said on Liverpool vs PSG, Rio Ngumoha and Florian Wirtz

Arne Slot addressed all things Liverpool ahead of the quarter-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain, with his side needing to stage a remarkable comeback in the Champions League

Liverpool boss Arne Slot speaking during his pre-match press conference ahead of the second leg against PSG(Image: Getty Images)

Arne Slot will be hoping for another famous night at Anfield on Tuesday, with Liverpool having it all to do as it faces Paris Saint-Germain once again.

Having fallen to a 2-0 defeat in the French capital last week, the Reds are on the verge of having their dreams of a seventh European crown dashed - but there is still an opportunity for them to produce what would be an unforgettable night in the Champions League.

And it could be a night for a new hero to emerge, with calls growing for Rio Ngumoha to start after his man of the match display on Saturday. Slot addressed that, and more during his pre-match press conference on Monday.

Here is what the Liverpool boss had to say ahead of the second leg against PSG…

How will he motivate his players?

"First of all, remind them what the score was, that it was 2-0. It felt completely different, as we all know, but the end result was 2-0.

"Second of all, we have shown so many times this season in big games that we are able to get a great performance. We have also shown a different face, I am completely aware of that, but many of our games that we have played were very good as well, especially in big games.

"Not all of them because not all of us have been together for one-and-a-half years, but for the ones that have been with me for the past one-and-a-half years, in the 49 home games we have played, 36 times we were able to score two goals or more. So, yes, we did not play in all these 49 games against Paris Saint-Germain, I do understand that. But as we all know, the Premier League and the Champions League opponents that we had over here were also very strong and are very strong.

"So, yes, there is a belief that we can do special things tomorrow but we need to be very, very, very special tomorrow to achieve that because we are playing against the champions of Europe, so that makes the task more complicated but not impossible."

Arne Slot was criticized for his tactics in Liverpool's first leg defeat to PSG(Image: Getty Images)

Will the approach be different from the first leg?

"I don't know if a lot has been said about that because I had to focus on Fulham and now Paris Saint-Germain again, but usually in football I know how it works that if you change the system the focus is completely on the system, and not about what is actually happening.

"People find it probably very hard to believe what I am going to say now, but the approach is not so different for tomorrow than it was in Paris – for the people who know me, I never put out a team and tell them to go to a low block for 90 minutes.

"Actually, if you really looked at the game back you could see that we have pressed them high on multiple, multiple, multiple occasions. Unfortunately, seven or eight of those moments led to them being one-on-one to our goalkeeper.

"So, again, the approach tomorrow will be to take the risk – because that's, first of all, what we need – but to get the ball off them you need to press them, and we saw how difficult it is to press these players. But that was the same last season and Anfield did make a big difference for us last season, and I am expecting it to make a big difference for us tomorrow as well".

More on the approach

"I think we have to find the perfect balance between being offensive. But to be offensive you need to have the ball and to get the ball back, you're now mentioning two full-backs but against all these other players you have to do so many things well before your attackers can attack. So, that's why the history of this club and at other clubs you've seen players that are very good offensively but are also able to do the defensive job, because the only way to score is if you have the ball.

"The thing is that tomorrow two teams are facing each other [and] both would like to have the ball a lot. The last time we faced each other, they had the ball for 76 per cent of the time, so that's the first thing we have to change tomorrow – to have the ball more. And if we have it more then it's nice to have attacking threat on the pitch and that's what we will have tomorrow."

Can Ngumoha handle this type of game?

"Yeah, I think he can. First of all, because of his personality. He doesn't get distracted that soon. I think everyone who knows his history a bit more, there's a lot of expectation around him for many years already and he's always been able to focus on football, to become better, to become stronger, to become ready at 16 years of age to score your first goals, 17 years of age and already had multiple starts for the first team of Liverpool. That's one thing.

Rio Ngumoha could start for Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)

"And second of all, because of his quality. He shows that he's able at the highest level – which is Champions League but Premier League definitely is this as well – to be able to take one-v-ones on and make it difficult for the defenders he's facing. I think he's done a very good job in managing what comes to him now. But then it's also a good thing to have so many experienced players around you, which he has in the dressing room.

On Florian Wirtz

“What we did after Jurgen [Klopp] left, 18 months ago, and we always knew that it would be a transition, because we knew it would be the end of a cycle and we always knew we would have to recoup money, which we did by selling 10, 11 or 12 players I think,” Slot said as he launched a defense of the club’s transfer strategy.

"And we have spent that money on young, very talented players that get their times to build on the same cycle as the last seven or eight years has been with the players who have already left or will do at the end of the season.

"So that is why we brought in Florian, Alex [Isak], Hugo [Ekitike], Milos [Kerkez], Jeremie [Frimpong], young, talented players to create a new cycle and therefore we need a lot of players to leave to find the money to buy them.

Florian Wirtz has been criticized for some of his recent performances(Image: MI News/NurPhoto)

"We didn’t add Florian Wirtz to the team that played PSG. We bought him to be successful in the future, which could be the near future or the mid to long term future. And we bought him and others - young players - to create a new successful cycle, and the sooner that happens, the better it is.

"I am convinced that either tomorrow or next season or the season after soon he (Wirtz) will, like Milos, Alex, Jeremie, like [Jeremy] Jacquet - another 19-year-old we are bringing in this summer - will have special moments here at Anfield and tomorrow is the first opportunity for him and the others, but we didn’t bring him in for this single, particular game."

On his side's mindset

"Of course, we know we need an exceptional performance to go through to the next round, but that's completely normal if you face the champions of Europe and you're 2-0 down. Then to make people a bit more positive than you were trying just a second ago, we've also been able to score more than two goals once in a while.

"Let's first focus on the job at hand and that is just start aggressive, making sure we can get back into the tie and the best way of doing so is, of course, scoring the first goal, which we again know because otherwise you're going tell me, 'Yeah, but last season they scored the first goal over here and at Arsenal they scored their first goal...' So yes, I know that they will try to score the first goal, but that's definitely what we are going to try as well."

On the Anfield effect

"Just as important as our performance, so I think we have to be much, much, much better than we were last week. Their players are experienced players, they have experienced Anfield a year ago, so they think that they know what's coming up. So, I can only hope that our fans can find an extra gear compared to last season, which I'd argue if it's possible because the atmosphere last season was unbelievable.

"But I think our fans are up for it to make it even louder, which is also needed because then their players get what they don't expect. First of all, a better performance from us, which I do think they would expect, by the way – it's hardly possible to play at the same level again. And our fans, I think I can trust them [to be] even louder than last season."