Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, looks on during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Round of 16 First Leg match between Galatasaray SK and Liverpool FC at Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi on March 10, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Ahmad Mora/Getty Images)placeholder image
Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, looks on during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Round of 16 First Leg match between Galatasaray SK and Liverpool FC at Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi on March 10, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Ahmad Mora/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Liverpool suffered a 1-0 defeat by Galatasaray in the Champions League last 16 first leg.
Arne Slot says that Liverpool’s supporters will play a big part in his side’s ambitions of reaching the Champions League quarter-finals.
The Reds’ 1-0 loss to Galatasaray in the last 16 first leg in Istanbul means that their European aspirations are currently hanging by a thread. Mario Lemina’s seventh-minute header proved the difference as Rams Park. Liverpool had an equaliser disallowed by VAR in the second half, although the hosts also had a goal chalked off for offside.
Slot’s side also were defeat 1-0 by Galatasaray in the league phase of the Champions League. When the last-16 draw was made, Liverpool were the favourites in many people’s eyes to reach the next phase.
At his post-match press conference, Slot was asked about Kop legend Jamie Carragher being 99 per cent certain that Liverpool would beat the Turkish champions. The Liverpool head coach replied: “Jamie is a pundit and as a pundit, he's a big fan of Liverpool so you need to take that into account. I never talk about personalities, how big of a chance we have, yes or no. I know now after playing Galatasaray twice, how difficult it is to beat them.
“But with the help of our fans, being able to get even a better performance than tonight and another time, with the amount of chances we have, our players are able to score a goal. But we need to defend really well because Galatasaray have shown twice they can score a goal against us. So a lot to play for next week and a game I'm really looking forward to because we play at Anfield.”
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