Liverpool manager Arne Slot spoke to the English club’s official website after the draw for the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals of the Champions League 2024-2025, including the round of 16 against Paris Saint-Germain. He stressed that PSG have great qualities, but also that his team is looking forward to these matches (March 4-5 and March 11-12, the schedule has not yet been fixed).
Slot “a challenge we’re looking forward to.”
“At this stage of the competition, the quality of the opponent will only be of the highest level and in PSG, they have built a team and a club with a real European pedigree. They qualified for the Champions League Round of 8 in style earlier this week thanks to a big win over Brest, and they’ve had some very good results in the first round, beating Stuttgart, Manchester City, Girona and Salzburg. As is the case for us, PSG are top of their domestic league and on a long unbeaten run.
That tells us all we need to know about the challenge we’ll face. But it’s also a challenge we’re looking forward to, knowing that we fully deserve to be among the last 16.
Slot “our immediate focus is on our next Premier League games.”
Of course, our immediate focus is on our next Premier League games, starting with Manchester City on Sunday, but we’ll do everything we can to be in the best possible shape when the Champions League resumes.”
Logically, there’s a certain excitement with this draw, as the next stage in the Champions League is taking shape, and there’s a very nice match-up between these two clubs. Both have great qualities and the ambition to go through to the next round. We know that there will be two great matches, with intensity and spectacle.
But Slot is also right to point out that there are other games to come and we need to concentrate on them. Liverpool kick off with Manchester City this weekend, while PSG face Lyon away. The Reds then face a tough Newcastle on Wednesday, but won’t play the weekend before the first leg. Paris, meanwhile, have Stade Briochin on Wednesday and Lille on Saturday.
All this with the Champions League in mind, of course, but it’s far too early to play those games.
