- 12 hours ago
Wirtz and Slot on out-of-form Liverpool champions league trip to PSG
07/04/2026
uefa26 champions league
07/04/2026
uefa26 champions league
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00:03Hello.
00:05Do you have a microphone?
00:10On the front, please.
00:12If any, first couple.
00:17Hi, Florian, are you OK?
00:19First of all, Florian, what's your view on how the season has gone as a whole,
00:22both personally and for the group as well?
00:31Of course, we wanted to have a better season until now,
00:37but we had some goals this season.
00:41Of course, the team won the Premier League last season,
00:46and this was for sure the aim for this season as well.
00:51Yeah, but I think we are still in the Champions League now,
00:54so there's still something to play for.
00:58Also, the qualification for the Champions League next season.
01:03So, yeah, we still have some goals we want to achieve.
01:07So, yeah, we wanted it to be better,
01:11but, yeah, there's still something to play for.
01:17Do you think then that this competition,
01:19or what opportunity do you see in this competition
01:21to maybe rescue the season?
01:25Yeah, it's a very big competition.
01:29Like, Champions League games are always special.
01:32So, yeah, we try to enjoy it, to come as far as possible,
01:37and hopefully, yeah, come through this round now.
01:41We know it's difficult,
01:43because the best teams in the world are playing Champions League.
01:48So, yeah, it's good to play against these teams and see where you are.
01:55And after the disappointment against Manchester City,
01:57Virgil obviously said you shouldn't give up,
02:00and that's maybe at a certain point what happened.
02:04What impact have those words had on you guys as a group,
02:08and what's been done to pull things back together?
02:13I don't know about this, that he said this,
02:19but I think, yeah, I would not agree directly,
02:25because we still try to create chances to turn the game around.
02:34Of course, when the game gets longer,
02:39and it's like in the 80th minute or something,
02:43and you are 3-0 back,
02:44then it's mentally also difficult to go and go.
02:52And, yeah, we just try to give our best in the game,
02:59also when it was 3-0 or 4-0.
03:02I think we had also still a few chances then.
03:07Yeah, but, of course, this is not our standards,
03:11that we lose 4-0 against City.
03:16We wanted to come through this round.
03:19So, yeah, next year we should go better
03:24and be better on the pitch.
03:30Florian, good evening.
03:31Ian Dennis from the BBC.
03:34Arna Slott said after the weekend that the players will react.
03:37What gives you confidence, belief or faith that you will react,
03:42or can you react for this tough test?
03:47I think we've shown this season already that we are good in big games,
03:54especially in Champions League games.
03:57I think the last round against Galatasaray was not easy,
04:01because they have also a good team.
04:02So, yeah, we believe in ourselves.
04:07We have a good group together with good characters and great players.
04:12Also a good manager who tries to prepare us good for the game.
04:18So, yeah, we believe in ourselves.
04:22We know we have the second game at home.
04:26That is maybe an advantage.
04:29So, yeah, we try to do our best, believe in ourselves
04:34and, yeah, come first of all with a good result to Anfield.
04:43And the answer to the end.
04:48Hi Florian, are this group of players,
04:51you mentioned that you've got a good manager,
04:53but is this group of players still playing for the manager?
04:56Because that's a question that's been asked, obviously,
04:58since Saturday's performance.
05:02Yes, of course.
05:04We are believing in the manager.
05:08The team should believe in the manager
05:11because they won the league last season.
05:15We had a lot of good games this season.
05:20As I said before, we wanted it to be better,
05:23but it is what it is now.
05:26We still have things to play for
05:28and, yeah, everything I can say to that
05:32is that we believe in the manager
05:34and, yeah, try to get our best on the pitch tomorrow.
05:43Florian, the reaction to going 1-0 behind on Saturday
05:46was quite poor from the team.
05:48You conceded, I think, four goals in 20 minutes outside of half-time.
05:54What needs to be better about the team's mentality to avoid that?
05:58Because PSG will come hard at you tomorrow, right from the start,
06:03and people are maybe worried that if you concede an early goal
06:06you could concede 2-3 again.
06:09Of course, we need tomorrow 90 minutes of full energy and full commitment.
06:17Otherwise, we will have no chance.
06:20We need 90 minutes of being together as a team.
06:27Also in difficult moments, if we concede, we have to stick together.
06:34And I believe that we can win this game.
06:40And also over everything is that we still have a second game at home
06:45where we want to for sure have a good result.
06:50So, yeah, we have to stick together and also in the bad moments.
06:59I think on the weekend we tried too much, I think, at one point.
07:09So we were a little bit wild on the pitch.
07:17So we have to fix that for the next game.
07:23You've mentioned a couple of times the importance of Anfield for the second game.
07:27Do you think the team will play differently tomorrow?
07:30Less wild? A different approach, maybe?
07:33To ensure the tie is still open next week?
07:38We will give everything tomorrow.
07:41We have to give in both games everything we have.
07:45We cannot think that everything goes well at Anfield.
07:52So, yeah, we just need 90 minutes in both games with full focus.
08:06Can you tell us how your partner, Ugo Eketike, feels to play against his previous club, PSG?
08:14Does he feel like this is a special game for him?
08:19Yeah, I think it will be special for him because he played here.
08:24So I hope he can enjoy it and maybe score a goal.
08:30That's what I wish him.
08:33Just the last one here.
08:37James, for your hand up.
08:43Florian, this will be the first Champions League quarter-final of your career.
08:46When you joined Liverpool last summer, was this the kind of nights that you really looked forward to?
08:53And do you feel a responsibility to deliver on this kind of stage
08:56to justify the big expense and faith that the club showed in you?
09:01Yeah, of course.
09:02These are the games you want to play as a player.
09:05And I dreamed of when I came to this club.
09:10So we try everything to do a good game tomorrow and next week also at Enfield.
09:18So yeah, these are the games you want to play as a player.
09:25And for sure come through this round.
09:29Why do you think the better performances have come in the Champions League
09:32compared to the struggles domestically this season?
09:36Sorry?
09:37Obviously, the better performances from the team have come in the Champions League.
09:41You've beaten Real Madrid, you've beaten Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan,
09:43yet you've struggled against a lot of lesser teams in Premier League football.
09:49Yeah, I think we had also a few good games in the league.
09:55But that shows maybe that the Premier League is a tough league,
09:59that there anyone can beat anyone.
10:06Champions League nights are always a bit different.
10:08You meet different clubs from different countries with a different playstyle.
10:16So yeah, until now we've enjoyed it.
10:20We've come till here, so just looking forward to face PSG tomorrow.
10:29Thank you everyone.
13:54Do you have a mic to the front, please?
13:55One tag?
13:56Do any?
13:58Any first couple?
13:59A lot to get through.
14:01Arna, obviously we know Alexander Isak has travelled,
14:04but where's he at in terms of the level of the role he can play tomorrow night?
14:11Finished close to a week of team training sessions now,
14:14so he can play a part, otherwise I wouldn't take him.
14:18I decided not to take him to the Etihad because we felt in talks with the player,
14:24medical performance staff, that he wasn't able to get a performance out of him yet.
14:30And since he's with us now, we do think that we can get a performance out of him now,
14:34but not to start, that would be clear.
14:37Obviously we saw you start well at the weekend,
14:40but after the first goal was conceded, things got away relatively quickly.
14:44After the game, Virgil then criticised some of the effort in the latter stages of the game as well.
14:50What impact do words like that from your captain have on the dressing room
14:53and how have you had to maybe pull things together since the weekend?
14:57Yeah, sometimes in a game of football you want to do things in a certain way,
15:03but you're not able to for various reasons,
15:07but one of them can definitely be conceding goals when you think you are playing well
15:11and you think you're in the game.
15:15And usually in football, moments that hurt you most is just before halftime
15:19and just after halftime, so you go in at halftime over large spells of the game,
15:24feeling you went toe-to-toe with City but then you're 2-0 down.
15:29And then immediately after halftime you conceded to 3-0.
15:32Then I saw indeed five minutes in between, we got two big chances for Mo by the way,
15:39but where it was too open and players were struggling.
15:44The good thing for us was that after the 4-0, City seemed to be OK with the 4-0
15:52and we had the ball and had constant ball possession, we're not able to create that much anymore.
15:57But I didn't see players giving up in that part of the game.
16:02But I think it's also good from a captain that he has a strong and firm reaction after a game
16:07like that.
16:07And hopefully it's not only immediately after the game, but we can as a team show a strong and firm
16:12reaction tomorrow evening.
16:15So what do you see in your players that gives you the belief that they can react to that?
16:19And not just react to that, but also maybe still rescue the season in this very competition?
16:23Yeah, that's a very simple answer. The first 35 minutes.
16:27Because it's not the first setback we've had losing 4-0. It's not the first time that there's 10 to
16:3215 minutes or 20 minutes of a game
16:35where we don't play our best football and we immediately get punished by a goal.
16:40Sometimes it's one, sometimes it's two in this situation. There were four.
16:43The only four chances we gave away in the game, by the way.
16:50But the first 35 minutes gives me a lot of confidence
16:54that we are able to go toe-to-toe against a team that combined with Parisien-Germain is, for me,
17:03one of the best or the best two teams in open play.
17:06The hardest teams to play against in open play, I have to say it like that.
17:11Because of their quality, because of the way they are managed.
17:14And we were able to do it very well for 35 minutes.
17:17But I can tell you, if we have the 20 minutes we had at City, if we have them tomorrow
17:21evening here,
17:22we will again concede four goals.
17:24Because these players over here know how to act if we are having 20 minutes of that.
17:31So it's a challenge for us to be from the first to the last second at the level we were
17:38in the first 45 minutes.
17:39If not, it's going to be a really hard night again, like it was last year,
17:44where we completely deserved to lose 4-0 over here, or maybe more.
17:48But that's the beauty of football.
17:50In the 85th minute, we scored a goal where it was almost like, wow, this was robbery.
18:00For a manager under scrutiny, after the comments from Virgil van Dijk at the weekend,
18:06what would you say the mood is for the players?
18:08Do you say something to the players or do you let them police that themselves in the dressing room?
18:13No, of course, we talk to the players in meetings, but also individually.
18:17But I think it makes complete sense and it's completely normal,
18:21the feeling Virgil shared after the game.
18:24And that is the feeling every player had.
18:26And not only every player, every staff member and every fan or supporter of Liverpool as well.
18:31So everyone involved in Liverpool Football Club was disappointed after that result.
18:36And that takes, of course, one or two days before you look forward and look ahead towards the next game.
18:45But before you do that, you first address what we have to improve.
18:50And that's quite obvious.
18:51I think everyone can see that if you only look at those 20 minutes,
18:54we can see a lot of things that we can improve.
18:58And we cannot compare Paris Saint-Germain with City completely,
19:04because when we had the controlled ball possession in the first 35 minutes,
19:09that also had to do with City staying more positional, not going so aggressive towards us,
19:16where Paris Saint-Germain has shown in the last seasons when Luis Enrique is here,
19:22that they do not give you any second of time to have the ball comfortable on your feet.
19:29It's press, press, press, press, press every second of the game.
19:33And how do you harness that negativity to turn it into something positive ahead of this game?
19:39No, the good thing is that during this year we've become quite experienced in terms of negativity,
19:46because of all the setbacks we've had this season.
19:49And this was a big one, because it was the quarter-final, because it was a big loss,
19:53because it was against our rivals.
19:57But for me it felt just as bad when we were, I think it was 3-2 up at Leeds,
20:03and we conceded an extra time when we were going 2-1 up or 3-2 up against Fulham,
20:08and we conceded an extra time.
20:11I didn't forget, but if I start to name up all the setbacks we had this season,
20:16then I see if other people wanted to ask questions, then that's probably not possible.
20:30Hi Arne, Ziggo Sport Netherlands.
20:32Last year when you left the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain,
20:35there was still so much to play for in the Premier League as well.
20:38This season it's different, so how different does it feel for you?
20:42How big is the pressure to perform in this Champions League,
20:45considering that the rest didn't plan out the way you hoped it would be?
20:48Yeah, you're right, we were in the League Cup still after we lost against Paris Saint-Germain,
20:53and three days later we lost the final.
20:57I think if you play a quarter-final, it doesn't matter that much where you are in the season,
21:02if you're still in the FA Cup, League Cup or where you are in your domestic league,
21:06it's always a special moment. We can never take a quarter-final of the Champions League for granted,
21:12let alone if you face the Champions of Europe that fully deserved to win the Champions League last
21:18season, and again this season are doing very, very, very well.
21:21So I don't look at that much of where we are in the season, I just look at it as
21:27a challenge on itself.
21:28And a nice one because in football it's sometimes also nice to get a second chance,
21:35in life it's in general it's nice to get a second chance, and as I said,
21:39City and Paris Saint-Germain are quite comparable, not only because they have owners from the same area,
21:46but also because of the quality they are having and the style of play they want to have,
21:50or they have. So it's another chance for us to show that we are not the team that we were
21:5720 minutes
21:59that we prefer to forget in the FA Cup, but we were the team in the first 35 minutes.
22:04Good luck tomorrow.
22:08Bonjour. Possible en français ? Merci.
22:12Sorry.
22:18Bonjour coach. Un petit peu plus tôt dans la journée, Luis Enrique a dit qu'il n'y avait pas
22:22vraiment d'équipe
22:23favorite, que ce n'était pas important, que Liverpool et Paris étaient deux équipes très proches.
22:28Est-ce que selon vous il y a un écart entre Paris et Liverpool ? Et si oui, quelle équipe
22:33est plus
22:34en avance dans son jeu, dans sa façon de faire ? Merci.
22:42In general, I don't think it matters that much if there's a favorite, yes or no.
22:47Because it's only about two games and a lot can happen in two games.
22:51I think both teams have very good players. Both teams were able to show last season to go toe-to
22:57-toe.
22:58By the way, we deserve to lose here last season 4-0, completely.
23:03Much more than we deserve to lose on Saturday 4-0.
23:07But that game, it was only thanks to Alisson that we didn't lose 4-0.
23:11And then we got away with a 1-0 win.
23:13At Anfield, for me, it wasn't completely the opposite.
23:16It wasn't as if we deserve to win that game with 4-0.
23:18But for me, we deserve to win that game.
23:21But the big difference between these two teams is that Paris Saint-Germain
23:24kept the whole group together.
23:26I don't think they added anyone, did they?
23:28They didn't buy anyone, did they?
23:30Or they did?
23:31Oh, yeah.
23:32But I don't expect him to start tomorrow.
23:37And I think our team will look completely, not completely, but will look quite different
23:42to the team that was here last season.
23:48John's in the back.
23:51John's in the back.
23:54Thank you, coach.
23:56Juanjo Reda for Fox Mexico.
23:58Last year, after that tie, it was like a boost for PSG to end up winning the UEFA Champions League.
24:05After a difficult season for you, do you imagine a similar scenario for your team after this tie against them?
24:14Well, I don't think so far ahead, especially not if you face Paris Saint-Germain.
24:18So, like I said, the Champions of Europe fully deserved this season, kept the team together.
24:24As it proves out in football, usually the longer teams play together, the better they even become.
24:30If that was even possible, because they were so impressive last season,
24:34but I watched quite a lot of games of them and they are just as impressive,
24:38maybe even more impressive this season.
24:40There's even more rotations and they are still a very good team.
24:46But as it is in football, details can decide a lot because who takes penalties best.
24:52That is what made the difference last season for Paris Saint-Germain,
24:55to beat us and then go all the way to win the final.
25:00Usually, your team needs to win a penalty shootout.
25:02It's the same in the World Cup or in the Champions League.
25:05You usually might need one time to win a penalty shootout.
25:10And as much as I want to believe that there is no luck involved in a penalty shootout,
25:17because you can train it, you can prepare it, you can do a lot of things for it.
25:21Sometimes, maybe this has to do also a little bit with luck with a goalkeeper,
25:25because Donnarumma was great in that shootout.
25:29And three or four weeks ago, I think, I was like,
25:32OK, Italy will probably win this shootout.
25:34Because I had nightmares of him saving all these penalties from us.
25:38But now he wasn't able.
25:39So that is sometimes also football.
25:41But I'm not looking so far ahead.
25:45First this task, tomorrow evening,
25:47and then on Saturday there is a big game in our stadium against Fulham,
25:51and then the next one against Paris Saint-Germain.
25:53And for the ones who don't know, then there is another big game.
25:58Playing away from home, I think Tony is in it.
26:00I don't know.
26:02That's also a big game.
26:04We have a lot of hands, we have time for three more.
26:06So we've got one there, then one in the middle, and then the last one here.
26:11Hi, coach.
26:12Ilyas Peter from 90 Minutes.
26:14From France, we've seen that you talked a lot about this PSG game last season
26:18and even this season.
26:19Can you explain to us the impact these two games against PSG last season
26:24have had on you and your team?
26:26And in a second time, do you think PSG is a better team right now
26:29than they were last season when you faced them?
26:32Yeah.
26:34I wouldn't say I spoke that much about it, but maybe more than I spoke about
26:38several other games, and then immediately stands out speaking more about that game.
26:42The reason why I come back to that game a lot is because, especially at Anfield,
26:47I liked it because we played a little bit better than over here,
26:50but in both games it was all about football.
26:52And this season I've seen so many times that certain tactics are used
26:56that you cannot do anything about.
26:59I'm talking about time-wasting or all kinds of other things in football,
27:03and that was not the case in both legs that we played PSG.
27:07It was just going toe-to-toe and try to win it in the team that was best over two
27:15legs.
27:16Are they even better now?
27:18I just said that already.
27:19It's almost impossible to be better than the team they were last season
27:22because they were already that good last season.
27:25But as I just said, almost every team, maybe every team gets better
27:32the longer they play together.
27:36And I think Paris Saint-Germain is also an example of that.
27:39But it's only if you are...
27:42So in the 100-metre sprint, if you run 9.8, you cannot go to 8.6,
27:47you can maybe go to 9.75.
27:50And these are the margins we are talking about in Paris Saint-Germain.
27:54We're on a different stage now because we made a big transition in the summer.
27:59But we are trying to go to that 9.8 again and hopefully even to 9.75,
28:07if I keep that example.
28:11Good evening, coach.
28:13Bavik and Harutson, Fast Media Armenia.
28:15Given how important Alisson Becker was in the last year's win over PSG here,
28:20do you expect Mamardashvili to have a similar impact
28:23or will things be different this time?
28:29We prepare the game and if the game goes as I hope it goes,
28:34we don't need our goalkeeper.
28:37But the question is if that's realistic,
28:40because I think Paris Saint-Germain scored in all of their home games,
28:43I kept for one if I'm informed correctly.
28:47So usually if you go against a team that's so offensive as Paris Saint-Germain
28:53with the quality they are having,
28:55then usually you need a good goalkeeper that day.
29:00But for 35 minutes at the Etihad I thought we didn't need a goalkeeper,
29:04and then 20 minutes later I was hoping that my goalkeeper would save a few,
29:10but fortunately they didn't get a chance any more in the last half hour.
29:15Paul, this one.
29:21How do you see a way out of the recent results?
29:25Because obviously there's criticism of you,
29:27there's now criticism of the players that they're not trying enough in games.
29:31There's going to be a protest on Saturday against another part of the club.
29:36A year ago you were coming up to winning the title
29:39and the change in mood around the club is just totally different.
29:44How do you see a way out of where you are now?
29:47Because obviously the performances and results have been inconsistent for so long now.
29:55Yeah, I cannot debate that, that's completely true,
29:58that the performances and results have been very inconsistent throughout the whole season.
30:04I think the answer lies in the history of Liverpool.
30:07This club has always shown that in tough moments they stand up again,
30:12and I think we've had a lot of tough moments,
30:16and we've stood up a few times but then fallen down again.
30:19And now we have to show that mentality again,
30:24of just keep going and picking yourself off after disappointment,
30:28because this club has shown all so many times
30:31that we can do very special things in difficult circumstances.
30:36And especially if we can bring this game to Anfield,
30:40as we saw last season, as we've seen so many times.
30:43A recent example was the Galatasaray games,
30:46where we didn't have the best game away at Galatasaray.
30:49And we played probably the best game of the season at home against Galatasaray.
30:54So the answer is already in the history of Liverpool,
30:59but it's easier said than done.
31:04Because we've shown far too many times this season
31:07that we have faces in the game, like the 20 minutes we had at the Etihad.
31:12Usually it's only five to ten, that's why we usually only concede one or one
31:16as a maximum of two goals.
31:18But 20 minutes, that means four goals conceded.
31:21So yeah, like I said, easier said than done.
31:26But this group has shown many times to come back after setbacks,
31:30and this club has even done it many, many, many more times.
31:34So there is where we, apart from the quality my team has,
31:42by the way, Paris Saint-Germain has a bit of quality as well,
31:45but my team has shown many times in big games,
31:49with the exception of twice at the Etihad,
31:53that we are able to compete with the best teams in Europe.
31:58And now it's up to us to show the team that we've been,
32:05and I can name up Real Madrid at these games.
32:08Yeah.
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