Liverpool head coach Arne Slot deemed the Southampton game as the first of three consecutive finals for his senior team. Liverpool will play the Saints in the Premier League clash, followed by the second-leg Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain.
The Reds will finish the week with the Carabao Cup final match against Newcastle United at Wembley on March 16. The series of big games will end with the March international break before the season’s final stage commences in April.
The Reds narrowly escaped PSG by securing an important 0-1 away victory despite getting outplayed for most of the game. However, the Champions League tie is far from over, and so is the Premier League campaign, despite their current standing.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot demands that his team take every game until the Carabao Cup final seriously.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot demands that his team take every game until the Carabao Cup final seriously.
Liverpool have a 13-point lead over second-placed Arsenal in the Premier League title race with 10 games remaining this season. Nevertheless, the title race is never over until it is mathematically impossible for the Gunners to reach the Reds.
Speaking in the pre-match press conference, Slot highlighted that Southampton is the first of three finals for the Liverpool team. He said:
“I have to convince my players that we play three finals, like I said now a few times, and I’m hoping – and that’s why I every time come up with the word ‘final’ – that I influence our fans a bit as well. That they understand how important they are going to be tomorrow. I’m hoping they will not come into the stadium five minutes before the kick-off, I’m hoping the whole stadium is already completely filled half an hour before kick-off and that these players get the reward for what they did in Paris for working so hard.”
Slot has to decide the team he will deploy against the Saints while bearing the upcoming PSG game in mind. However, the Dutchman has always focused on the game in hand with his approach, and the only time he defied that was during the FA Cup clash against Plymouth Argyle.
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The loss to Plymouth was a big disappointment but also a good lesson for the Dutchman who, many would forget due to the quick success, is still in the first season as the new boss of Liverpool.