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Liverpool’s players and staff weren’t afforded the best night’s sleep in Istanbul ahead of their their Champions League clash with Galatasaray - although Arne Slot wasn’t too bothered by the hostile welcome.
The Reds are in Turkey for their second league phase encounter this season, having recorded a dramatic 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid at Anfield two weeks ago thanks to Virgil van Dijk's late header.
They’ll face another tough challenge against the Turkish champions, and they were given a taste of the hostile reception they could expect against Galatasaray during the early hours of Tuesday morning, just as they were trying to rest.
Videos have been shared online of Galatasaray fans causing chaos outside the hotel where Liverpool’s players and staff were reportedly staying as they tried to sleep. Masked supporters were seen chanting and setting off fireworks in an apparent attempt to distract the visitors.
Whether their ploy will work remains to be seen, although Jeremie Frimpong was among those to confirm he heard the mayhem outside his hotel room.
Speaking to Amazon Prime Video, Frimpong said ahead of the game: “It’s my first time over here. The atmosphere looks crazy, and it’s a great team. It’s an opportunity to perform, so I’m happy to see what’s going to happen.”
Asked about the fireworks, the Dutch international added: “Of course, sometimes it’s like this, but you know, it’s football, it’s part of the game. Obviously, we come here to win, we don’t want to lose, we want to put out a good performance.”
Not everyone was woken up by Galatasaray’s supporters though. In fact, Liverpool’s head coach seemed to suggest he was able to sleep through the whole ordeal.
“I’ve not heard it myself, maybe I was at the back of the hotel so I didn’t hear it, or I slept really well!” Slot said.
“I didn’t hear it, but you see this more and more in football.”
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Liverpool will be aiming to make it two wins out of two in the Champions League in Istanbul, with the Reds looking to bounce back following their defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday - their first of the season.
In a surprise move, Mohamed Salah has been named on the bench against Galatasaray, with Slot making four changes to his side.
“We have many games to play in a few days, there's another big game to play coming up,” Slot explained. “We have to utilize our squad, and utilizing doesn't always mean from the start, players can come in as well.
“Many of our games, players have impacted the game coming from the bench.”
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