Carragher: Liverpool's Tactical Approach Was Woefully Inadequate

According to Jamie Carragher, Arne Slot's tactical decisions were 'massively wrong' in Liverpool's 2-0 Champions League quarter-final first leg loss to Paris Saint-Germain. Carragher believes that Virgil van Dijk will be urging Slot not to use a back five again after the Reds were outplayed. Liverpool now face an uphill task to reach the semi-finals, and Carragher feels that the scoreline could have been even more disastrous, potentially 'five or six' goals. Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored for PSG, while Luis Enrique's side missed several chances to extend their lead and had two penalty appeals rejected by VAR. Carragher expressed concern over the significant gap in class between the two teams, stating that Liverpool's performance was reminiscent of a 'lower division' team. He criticized Slot's decision to switch to a back five, which he felt exposed Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate to unnecessary pressure due to the use of man-to-man marking. Carragher thinks that Van Dijk, at 34 years old, was uncomfortable in the back three and will likely plead with Slot to abandon this system. Slot acknowledged that Liverpool were fortunate to only lose 2-0 and agreed that the tie is still alive ahead of the second leg at Anfield.