Arne Slot has said there will be no additional motivation for his players against Paris Saint-Germain despite the opposition’s bullish post-match comments last week.
The Parisians were dismayed at the 1-0 loss at the Parc des Princes, which came despite the hosts managing 27 shots and Liverpool having just two. Vitinha confidently declared PSG will qualify for the second leg and win at Anfield, while reports indicated that the French champions were surprised at the underwhelming performance of the side expected to win the Premier League this term.
But Slot wasn’t getting drawn into a mud-slinging match when speaking in Monday’s press conference.
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“I think what you mean is some of them have said Arsenal and Bayern Munich were better than us,” Slot said, when asked about PSG’s shock at Liverpool's performance. “I think what that has to do with it is, PSG improved in those months and they played away at Arsenal and Bayern Munich and I saw both of those games and they improved.
“They have improved, they have changed and it is up to them. I cannot influence what they felt and I don’t know if it is true but I am hoping they have a different opinion tomorrow.”
Asked if those comments add extra motivation, he replied: “I don’t know. I don’t think anyone needs motivation, not their players, not our players, if you play at Anfield in the knockout stages.
"Two of the best teams in Europe, I think there are three, four or five incredible teams in Europe at the moment. Paris Saint-Germain is one of them and we are one of them. I don’t think anyone needs any kind of motivation, not our fans, not our players, their players or the staff. We are all looking forward to a game like this and need to be at our best if you play the best."
The Liverpool boss said his side will need its best performance of the season on Tuesday against PSG, the best team it has faced.
“This is the most complete team we have played so far. What I mean by complete is of course we have faced Arsenal and Manchester City and it is not that there are big differences or margins but the quality and intensity they played at.
“Let's be honest here, we are talking about probably the richest club or maybe there is one richer club that are bit further ahead but they have so much quality and a great, great manager, because he let's the team play in a way that is not easy and he brings the best out of them.
“He brings an incredible work rate to the team, so we have to be at our best tomorrow. But, for example, we didn’t have ball possession at all, City away - the other richest club in the world with PSG - and at home we had a completely different performance against City than we had away.”
