Liverpool may look to the free agent market this summer.placeholder image
Liverpool may look to the free agent market this summer. | AFP via Getty Images
It's not quite the last chance saloon for Arne Slot, but losing to Galatasaray won't help his cause.
The Champions League isn’t quite Arne Slot’s only chance of salvation, however, progress in Europe’s premier tournament would give him a degree of protection.
The draw hasn’t been kind to Liverpool with Paris Saint Germain, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid all on the same side, Chelsea and Man City having been battered by two of them already. If they beat Galatasaray, things are only going to get harder. Should Arne Slot overcome the 1-0 defecit from the first leg, he will know that anything can happen and hope that, as they did earlier in the season, that the big teams bring out the best of a squad that has been battered from pillar to post recently.
Liverpool backed to beat Galatasaray
One pundit who thinks that Liverpool will progress is TalkSPORT’s European football expert Kevin Hatchard who has explained why the Premier League champions will still be in the draw come full-time on Wednesday night: “I just think at Anfield, the Galatasaray fans aren't allowed to travel, so it's going to be all Liverpool fans. I think from Liverpool's point of view, I'd like to think that the weekend fires them up a little bit, that you get a bit more.
“But Liverpool are creating chances, it's about taking them. And actually we saw that again in Istanbul. Ekitike runs through, great save by Cakir. They had numerous chances early on. Florian Wirtz, who I love, but missed an open goal. And even I can't defend him for that. So, you know, they have to be more on it going forward. They have to be more clinical. If they are, I think they go through.”
Can Galatasaray win save Liverpool’s season?
One thing Liverpool need to do is significantly up the tempo from the draw with Spurs. They also need, as Hatchard says, is make the most of any opportunities to score, especially moments like the one in the 95th minute at the weekend when a 4 v 2 ended with Ekitike shooting with his back to goal when a much better chance should have been created.
Slot isn’t quite at the stage where he can rest and rotate in the Premier League just yet given that a Champions League place is still up for grabs. Mohamed Salah might be saved for more of the ‘big’ games, but it will be hoped that he rediscovers even a percentage of his form from last season. If he does, winning the Champions League might become a reality, albeit a distant one.
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