Carragher: Liverpool's Tactical Approach Was Woefully Inadequate

According to Jamie Carragher, Liverpool's manager, Arne Slot, made a significant tactical error, which Virgil van Dijk will likely implore him to avoid in the future, following their 2-0 Champions League quarter-final first leg loss to Paris Saint-Germain. Carragher believes the defeat could have been even more severe, potentially 'five or six' goals, given the gulf in class between the two teams. Liverpool's poor season continued, with Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scoring for Luis Enrique's side, who also had two penalty appeals turned down by VAR. Carragher expressed concern over the vast difference in quality between the teams, stating, 'That was like watching a team from a lower division.' Slot's decision to switch to a back five, in an attempt to contain PSG's threat, backfired due to the use of man-to-man marking, which left Van Dijk exposed. Carragher felt that Van Dijk, at 34 years old, was ill-suited to the system, having to cover a lot of ground, and will likely plead with Slot to never use it again. Slot acknowledged that Liverpool were fortunate to only lose 2-0, given the number of chances PSG created, and expressed relief that the tie is still alive ahead of the second leg at Anfield.