Carragher: Liverpool's Tactical Approach Was Woefully Inadequate

Jamie Carragher has criticized Arne Slot's tactical decisions, stating that the manager got it 'massively wrong' and that Virgil van Dijk will likely be urging him to avoid using a back five again after Liverpool's dismal performance against Paris Saint-Germain. Liverpool suffered a 2-0 loss in the Champions League quarter-final first leg, a defeat that could have been even more severe, according to Carragher. Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored for PSG, while Luis Enrique's team had multiple chances to increase their lead and also had two penalty appeals rejected by VAR. Carragher expressed his concern over the significant gap in quality between the two teams, describing the experience as 'like watching a team from a lower division.' He noted that despite Liverpool spending £450m, possibly more than PSG, the gulf between the teams was startling. Slot's decision to switch to a back five in an attempt to contain PSG's threat backfired, with Carragher arguing that the use of man-to-man marking left Van Dijk exposed. Carragher felt that Van Dijk, at 34 years old, was uncomfortable in the back three and had to cover a lot of ground, which he couldn't do. He believes Van Dijk will be pleading with Slot to never use that system again. Slot acknowledged that Liverpool were fortunate not to have lost by a bigger margin and agreed that the tie is still alive. He explained that the first goal felt harsh and that they didn't give anything away. Slot also discussed his decision to leave Mohamed Salah as an unused substitute, stating that the last part of the game was about surviving and that it was better to save Salah's energy for upcoming games.