There was a definite cooling from Paris Saint-Germain on Monday ahead of the Champions League second leg at Anfield.
From a Parisian perspective, the fallout from last week’s defeat has centered around how unjust it was to lose to an underwhelming Liverpool, how this PSG team is vastly improved on previous iterations and how it can – and will – overcome the one-goal deficit. It bordered on arrogance and fallacy at times.
Not that this PSG doesn’t have the quality required to beat Liverpool at Anfield. It does – but the thought that progress is assured based on last week’s game is absurd. However, there was a change of course on Monday in the pre-match press conference on a busy Anfield afternoon.
The first of four speakers sat down around three hours after Liverpool had granted the media access to its Kirkby base to view training. There was an abundance of international media – many French – treated to a sunny yet blustery Merseyside afternoon. It was a reminder of how significant the game is; this is a bona-fide heavyweight clash.
So vast is the media interest that several journalists had to perch on the floor throughout the first press conference, which was conducted by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The winger was responsible for five of the 27 shots fired at Alisson’s goal last week and, despite Ousmane Dembele’s pre-match hype, it was PSG’s January signing who perhaps posed the greatest threat to Liverpool in the first leg.
It partly explains why he was so incredulous at PSG’s defeat. “We had many chances to score and we deserved much more,” he said last week. “We showed them that we are a better team.”
Yet Kvaratskhelia cut a more deferential figure when speaking on Monday, rating PSG’s chances of qualifying as ‘50/50’, referencing the importance of finishing chances at Anfield and how he expects to face an improved Liverpool. But beneath those words it wasn’t hard to distinguish a palpable sense of self-belief that still exists.
“We were a little bit disappointed because I think the performance was great [last week],” he said in excellent English. “When you play like that and don’t win it is disappointing. But in the dressing room we work hard and smile and tomorrow if we play the same quality game we can win and show everybody that we can win against every team.”
Luis Enrique entered soon after and his Q&A followed a similar pattern. “I am very optimistic with the ability my team has,” he said. “We need to attack together, defend together and keep the ball and if we keep the ball we will be able to create more dangerous opportunities and score.”
Like Kvaratskhelia, there was an admission that Anfield will play a factor and that his side must control its emotions. “You could get carried away,” he warned.
There was also a tip of the hat to Liverpool. “Over the course of two games we will see two of the best teams in Europe, two contenders for the final and whoever goes through tomorrow will go through to the final,” Enrique boldly predicted.
He departed soon after, and there was barely time for a sip of water and to glance back through some hastily typed quotes before Diogo Jota was entering the room. Many of the French journalists had moved on by this point but the room was still packed.
In truth, the third speaker was the least engaging; his best response centered around his own personal form and injury record, rather than that of the team. But he did offer an insight into where things went wrong last week for Liverpool. “I think they had the ball more than we expected, they dominated the game and created chances,” he said.
“We were too far away from their goal a lot of the time but in the end we won the game. We know that tomorrow here, with our fans, we want to show a different face and the game will be different for sure but in the end we just want to go through.”
By the time Slot strode into the room, it would have been understandable had interest and concentration began to wane in the room. Instead, the Liverpool boss was the most captivating of the quartet, certainly from an English-speaking perspective.
Perhaps his headline answer came as he batted away questions on PSG’s reaction to last week and the reports that it was surprising how poor Liverpool was. Instead, Slot twisted the narrative, claiming PSG is greatly improved since games against Arsenal and Bayern Munich earlier in this season’s Champions League. “I cannot influence what they felt,” he said.
Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola or even Jurgen Klopp could have offered a read-between-the-lines swipe back at PSG, but that’s not Slot’s style. There’s enough riding on this game without the Liverpool manager stoking up tensions.
But he also looked to quell suggestions his side struggled last week, pointing out few of PSG’s 27 shots were from dangerous positions. “I am not saying we were poor or not good at all, but we are a better team than we were last week and that is something we have to prove tomorrow with the help of our fans.”
He highlighted the difference between the home and away performances against Manchester City in the Premier League this season, hinting the same could happen against the French champions as he hopes to see Liverpool retain more possession and control. If there was a subtle warning to draw from Slot, it’s that PSG should expect a wholly different challenge six days on from the first meeting in Paris.
Not that he dismissed PSG’s capabilities. The ex-Feyenoord boss said Liverpool will need its best display of the season to progress and admitted the opposition’s pressing made it impossible to play out in the first leg. “I don’t think we have played a team this season who combined that much quality with intensity,” he opined.
But in many ways, the narrative of all four press conferences was set in Slot’s first answer. “I do agree with Luis Enrique that both we and PSG are teams, along with three or four others, that are good enough to reach the final.”
Real Madrid and Manchester City have set the tone for decisive early Champions League ties in recent years – they’ve met in each of the last three seasons and the winner has gone on to ultimately become European champions. The same could be true of Tuesday’s meeting on Merseyside.
Then Slot left, as heads spun from four consecutive press conferences. Where to begin? Some moved upstairs to watch PSG train on the pitch, but with a fully fit squad traveling to Liverpool and a plethora of answers to unpick, most local reporters remained downstairs.
It was dark by the time most departed the stadium, a contrast from the bright start to the day at Kirkby. Preparations were underway at Anfield as staff pottered about the ground’s perimeter.
It was calm on the floodlight courtyard and underneath the new Anfield Road stand. Twenty-four hours later, that certainly won’t be the case.