Julien Laurens says Liverpool boss Arne Slot ‘let the club, team and fans down’ in Tuesday’s 2-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
The Dutch manager is under intense scrutiny after the Reds failed to score across 180 minutes of football against the defending European champions, who came out on top with a 4-0 win on aggregate.
Laurens believes Slot’s decision to start Alexander Isak following his four-month injury absence backfired, saying Liverpool’s starting line-up on Tuesday was ‘complete nonsense’.
The Sweden international spent 45 minutes on the field before being substituted at the break, managing just five touches of the ball in the first half.
Arne Slot’s Line-Up ‘Complete Nonsense’
Arne Slot
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Laurens did not hold back when discussing Slot’s tactical choices following Liverpool’s 2-0 defeat to PSG at Anfield. The French journalist said:
“I don’t want to blame Arne Slot again like we did last week, but that line-up to start was complete nonsense.
“That second half should have been exactly how Liverpool should have started this game tonight, to get the crowd going.
“It should not have been Isak from the start, I don’t even understand where that came from.
“Unbelievable. I don’t understand. He made errors in that first leg in his line-up and the way I think they set up.
“And again, we said before the game, tonight he cannot get it wrong, tonight is not the game to get it wrong.
“You can’t change at half-time and expect then to turn this game around. He had to get it right from the beginning.
“And for me again, he let the team down, and the club down, and the fans down.”
Slot opted to leave Mohamed Salah on the bench again, but introduced the Egyptian on the half-hour mark after Hugo Ekitike was forced off with a worrying injury.
Cody Gakpo replaced Isak at the interval, while Joe Gomez came on for Jeremie Frimpong. The two changes saw Liverpool start the second half on the front foot, but ultimately they failed to make it count.
The Reds were awarded a penalty in the 65th minute following Willian Pacho’s challenge on Alexis Mac Allister, but VAR intervened and referee Maurizio Mariani overturned the decision.
Seven minutes later, Ousmane Dembele put the tie to bed with a powerful finish past Giorgi Mamardashvili, before adding his second in extra time from close range.
Hugo Ekitike Injury Update Emerges
hugo ekitike
An update on Ekitike’s injury has emerged after the forward was taken off on a stretcher during Tuesday’s Champions League clash.
According to journalist Lassana Camara, Ekitike could miss the rest of the season and the World Cup in a major blow for both Liverpool and France.
Ekitike went down midway through the first half and was seen clutching his ankle in pain before being taken off on a stretcher. Slot admitted the injury looked ‘really bad’.
Ekitike has scored 17 goals and provided six assists in 45 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions this season, registering the most goal involvements in the squad.
Hugo Ekitike was injured during Liverpool's Champions League match with PSG Related
Hugo Ekitike Injury: Doctor Predicts How Long He Will Miss After Liverpool 0-2 PSG
Liverpool striker was stretchered off in the first half of the Champions League clash