Liverpool

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Arne Slot has been speaking to the media before Tuesday's Champions League last-16 second leg against Paris St-Germain (kick-off 20:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Slot confirmed Cody Gakpo "will be fit to be in the squad" having trained for the first time on Monday.

• On comments made by PSG boss Luis Enrique about his Ligue 1 side having nothing to lose: "They have a game of football to lose. We do as well. I do think they have been at this stage of tournament for many years. Last season they reached the semi-finals - we were not even in this competition last year! The season before, this was the round we were knocked out. These teams [like PSG] are normally going quite far into Europe."

• On what Liverpool need to improve after their first-leg performance: "Some said we played poorly – I don't agree. I think they [PSG] played tremendously well. I don't think we have played a team this season that has combined that much quality with that much intensity, but I do think we can do better. I'm not saying we played poorly but we are a better team than we were last week. We need to prove that tomorrow with the help of our fans."

• Slot does not believe that suggestions PSG were surprised by Liverpool's level last week will give his players extra motivation: "I don't think anyone needs more motivation. Not our players or theirs. If you play in knockout stages at Anfield with one of best teams in Europe - them and us - no-one needs any kind of motivation."

• Asked if this kind of week with big games is what made him want to be Reds boss, he said: "There are many reasons why I wanted to be Liverpool manager. First of all, because of the history; second, because of the quality of players and third, because you expect us to be in these kind of moments. You want to compete for every trophy and at this club you expect to do so."

• The head coach said "you don't dream at all" in a week like this and his only focus is to "prepare the team in the best way".

• He added: "When you have games like last week you wonder: 'Do I even go to sleep or do I have to watch more?'"

• On having a lead to defend: "Is it different? No. We play every game to try and win. We tried to do that last week. It wasn't our intention to be low all the time. We tried to play a different game to over there, but sometimes teams, with the help of fans, that [performance] happens. Our intention is always the same - we are not going to go for a draw. We want to win every single game."

Listen to live commentary of Liverpool v PSG from 20:00 GMT on Tuesday on BBC Sounds

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Liverpool forward Diogo Jota says he will always try to do his best "no matter what" after struggling for form and fitness this season.

The 28-year-old has missed a number of matches through injury and had to settle for coming off the bench as he has tried to regain a spot in the team.

In total, he has played 27 matches across all competitions this campaign, scoring eight goals and providing three assists.

"It has been a difficult season for me personally," Jota said before Tuesday's Champions League second leg against PSG.

"I have had a few complications, but this [coming] month or two are the ones that matter the most and decide things. I don't feel I am at my best performances yet at the moment but by playing, I feel I can get there.

"I always try to do my best no matter what. I don't play alone - it's not an individual sport. There are lots of things you can't control."

The Portugal international started in the Parc des Princes last week and will target making an impact in the return leg at Anfield, four years to the day since his last goal in the competition.

"Stats are also a part of today's game but they don't say everything," he said. "Obviously I want to score but that is not a factor that will impact my game tomorrow.

"If I don't score and we go through, then I don't mind adding some more days onto [the statistic]."

Jordan Chamberlain
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Alexis Mac Allister has been the most unheralded of Liverpool's three starting midfielders this season, but he is perhaps the most important.

Arne Slot rested him against Southampton, and the Reds put in a pitiful first-half performance that saw them 1-0 down against the worst side in the Premier League.

But everything changed when Mac Allister came on at half-time and within 10 minutes Liverpool had scored twice and the match was effectively won.

He passes the ball through the lines at will, enabling Liverpool to transition more quickly and get his attackers on the half-turn. Before his entrance, all the passes into the forwards went to their feet when they were static, so it was too easy for Southampton to defend.

Mac Allister gets stuck in, too. He tackles, presses and his positioning is exceptional. He really is the all-round package in terms of a progressive central midfielder.

Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai looked tired against Southampton, but it is no surprise - they have barely had a rest all season. Slot will use those two and Mac Allister against PSG in the Champions League and Newcastle United in the League Cup final.

Let's hope they can get through it before the international break. By then, Liverpool may have two trophies wrapped up and be in the quarters of the Champions League - in hope of a potential treble.

Find more from Jordan Chamberlain at Empire of the Kop, external

Image source, Getty Images

Former West Ham midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker says Liverpool will want to get the Premier League title wrapped up "as quickly as possible" and that Arsenal have given them an "open door to get it done".

On BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast he said: "I think if you are a Liverpool player right now, as much as they have surprised everyone this season, nobody expected them to be in this position and this good under new manager Arne Slot.

"They have been sensational, only losing one game this season to Nottingham Forest and they are going to want to get this done as quickly as possible because they are still competing in the Champions League until at least next week, so wrapping up the Premier League title is the priority and Arsenal have given them an open door to get it done."

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Liverpool defender Andy Robertson is expecting "a tough game" against Paris St-Germain in the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie and says the Reds will need to play "a lot better" than they did in the first leg against their Ligue 1 opponents.

Arne Slot's side go into the second leg with a 1-0 advantage, thanks to Harvey Elliott's 87th-minute winner at Parc des Princes last week, and will be hoping for a similar result to see them progress to the quarter-finals of the competition.

Speaking to BBC Radio Merseyside ahead of the second leg at Anfield on Tuesday night, Robertson said: "I think they have shown how good they can be. They are probably the best team we have played this season.

"We have got the lead, which is important, but we can obviously play better than what we did in the first leg and that is clear. We will have to play better because we can't rely on Alisson playing the game of his life every game.

"Hopefully the crowd can get behind us, like they usually do on Champions League nights, and hopefully we can get through.

"That's the aim but we have to play a lot better than we did against Southampton in the league and probably the whole 90 minutes against PSG [in the first leg]. We need to play better, there is no denying that.

"We have to be a little bit more front-footed and things like that, but the game plan will be clear.

"Hopefully we will be sat here talking on Tuesday night about being through to the quarter-finals.

"It's not going to be easy but, if we play at our best and believe we can beat any team, we will be the ones in the last eight."

Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds

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We asked for your views on Liverpool's Premier League match against Southampton.

Here are some of your comments:

Liverpool fans

Jason: First half we seemed flat and unimaginative. Arne Slot again being ruthless and those substitutions breathed in some flair and energy to break down Southampton. Diaz had a complete turnaround performance in the second half with his direct dribbling which I would love to see this more from him.

Thilani: At this point Liverpool are doing what champions do; grinding results and getting the points!

Karen: Thank you Southampton for the kick up the backside the reds needed. They thought the goals would just mount up very easily. If you hadn't scored first this match could well have finished a goalless draw. Second half, Liverpool were more Champions elect.

Southampton:

Shearsy: Decent performance. Harsh penalties, but the players gave everything today. We march on.

Matthew: Crumbled under pressure again at the start of the second half, but we had more dodgy VAR decisions. It's looking OK to get at least one more win to get that record gone.

Shawn: Battling but you can't beat the referee as well. Equaliser scored by player who should have been sent off if the ref had guts. Oh well, it was never going to go our way.

Image source, PA Media

Liverpool have agreed a "multi-year" deal that will see Adidas become the Reds' kit partner from 1 August.

The Premier League club previously partnered with Adidas between 1985-1996 and 2006-2012.

Nike have supplied Liverpool's kits since the start of the 2020-21 season.

Liverpool chief executive Billy Hogan said: "Everyone at the club is incredibly excited to welcome Adidas back into the LFC family.

"We have enjoyed fantastic success together in the past and created some of the most iconic Liverpool kits of all time.

"Adidas and Liverpool share an ambition of success and we couldn't be more excited to partner together again as we look forward to creating more incredible kits to help drive on pitch performance.

"We'd like to thank Nike for their support over the past five years and wish them well for the future."

Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea have been keeping tabs on 27-year-old Inter Milan forward Marcus Thuram. (TBR Football), external

Want more transfer news? Read Monday's full gossip column

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Highlights and analysis from Saturday's six Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Liverpool 3-1 Southampton

• Brentford 0-1 Aston Villa

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Arne Slot spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Liverpool's victory against Southampton: "It's a sign of a good team that you can win in different ways. It was a poor performance first half - not only because of the way we played but also because of the energy we brought.

"The only good thing in the first 45 minutes was that they saved their energy [for Paris St-Germain on Tuesday] and didn't run at all!

"I know these players are capable of doing much, much better. That is what I expect this week. They were not the energy levels I am used to with these players."

On his side's 16 point lead at the top: "It's 16 for now but that can be down to seven by the time we play Everton in a few weeks [Arsenal have three Premier League games before Liverpool next play in the top-flight].

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is now the joint-fifth highest scorer in Premier League history alongside Sergio Aguero (184), while his 44 goal involvements this season (27 goals, 17 assists) is the joint-most in a 38-game season, with only Andrew Cole in 1993-94 and Alan Shearer in 1994-95 having more (both 47).

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Liverpool's performance

What did you make of Southampton's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Six matches make up Saturday's Premier League action and BBC Sport will bring you every kick.

• Nottingham Forest v Manchester City (12:30)

• Liverpool v Southampton - full commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Crystal Palace v Ipswich Town

• Brighton v Fulham

• Brentford v Aston Villa (17:30) full commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Wolves v Everton (20:00)

All kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

I am at this game for BBC Radio 5 Live and I would not be surprised if Liverpool make quite a few changes.

They have got a big lead at the top of the Premier League but they still have work to do in the Champions League against Paris St-Germain next week. They got a great win in the first leg in Paris, but that tie certainly isn't over.

If Reds boss Arne Slot had a third team, he might think about using it here - but he can probably get away with playing his second team and still being too strong for Saints.

It is around 230 miles from Southampton to Liverpool, and fair play to any Saints fans who make the trip - they are absolute die-hards because they are not getting anything at Anfield.

I would be saving my petrol money, because they know they are getting beaten, same as they know they are getting relegated this season.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Mandeep Sanghera
BBC Sport journalist

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Top-of-the-table Liverpool may be playing bottom club Southampton at Anfield on Saturday but Reds manager Arne Slot is not taking the game lightly.

The Dutchman has described the match as the first of three finals in a week in which his side host Paris St-Germain in the second leg of their last-16 Champions League tie on Tuesday and then face Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday, 16 March.

"A week to look forward to for every Liverpool fan," said Slot, who will serve the second game of a two-match touchline ban against Southampton.

"I know the final is there and everybody is already talking to me about how the atmosphere will be on a Champions League night, but I truly hope that our fans will be loudest tomorrow - not in the final and not against PSG, but tomorrow."

A win over Southampton will move Premier League leaders Liverpool 16 points clear of second-placed Arsenal, whose two games in hand will be against Manchester United on Sunday and Chelsea a week later.

Slot is using the word final for Saturday's game to emphasise its importance to both his players and the fans.

"I have to convince my players that we play three finals, like I said now a few times," added Slot. "I'm hoping - and that's why every time come up with the word 'final' - that I influence our fans a bit as well.

"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."

Liverpool boss Arne Slot spoke highly of Alisson during his latest news conference.

He is pleased with the depth of the goalkeeper union, but said the Brazilian goalkeeper doesn't need strong competition to stay motivated, stating: "He is a top professional like all of the players we have here. They know what it means to wear this shirt - you have to bring top performances or you won't play for this club."

George Mills
BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

When Plato theorised about his world of Forms many centuries before Christ, he wasn't to know his weighty philosophical musings would one day be exhumed in an email newsletter to describe a silly little football match.

But here I am, hoping my secondary school philosophy teacher will one day read this and know I actually was listening, struggling to think of a better way to describe Liverpool's 1-0 victory over Paris St-Germain. The only way I can is to understand it as a smash-and-grab of such Platonic perfection that it belongs among the great thinker's higher realm of Ideals.

Plato posited all that we see on Earth today is merely an imperfect copy of that which exists in its true form, its perfect form, somewhere beyond the physical. But if he were alive today and signed up to whichever Greek subscription channel broadcasts the Champions League, he will have seen a goalkeeping performance to make him consider tearing up his papyrus scroll.

To pull off such a footballing heist requires magnificence from the man between the sticks - and Alisson duly delivered for his side in the French capital.

"It was probably the performance of my life," he said after the game, before being hailed as "the best in the world" by Liverpool's late goalscoring hero Harvey Elliott.

On Wednesday's evidence, it's impossible to disagree with the youngster. Alisson has only won one Yashin Trophy - the annual award given out since 2019 to the best goalkeeper on the planet - but for my money, there's no other stopper in world football as gifted with both hands and feet.

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The latter were rarely used at the Parc des Prince though, this was a performance that needed hands alone - and multiple pairs, ideally. Alisson made nine saves throughout the contest, the most a Liverpool goalkeeper has made in a single game logged by data site Stathead for at least a decade. Those chances were of decent standard too, Les Parisiens' 27 total shots worthy of a combined 1.6 expected goals during 90 minutes of near-complete dominance. Liverpool had just 30% possession and took only two shots - both season-low tallies by a distance.

To take the conversation to even nerdier heights, we can use Stathead's post-shot expected goals metric to illustrate the quality of PSG's shots on target during the contest. Where xG values the chance at the point of the shot being taken, PSxG shows how likely a shot is to go in after it has been kicked based on where it goes on goal. A powerful shot low to the corner has a high post-shot xG, while a weak shot at the keeper has a low one and a shot off target would return 0.

By this metric, the stats say Alisson's acrobatics actually prevented 2.3 goals, the most-influential goalkeeping performance of the last decade in which Liverpool have kept a clean sheet, according to Stathead's logs.

For all the Brazilian keeper's brilliance, the chips still need to fall your way to win a game in the manner Liverpool managed. All supporters, myself included, can find it tough to acknowledge luck's role in victory, as if in doing so it makes the final result less valid.

However Reds boss Arne Slot had no hesitation pointing out his side were smiled upon by the footballing gods, admitting: "Had we got a draw, we would still have been the lucky ones. They were much the better team today."

With the tie poised deliciously ahead of next week's return leg at Anfield, Slot will know that big improvements are needed to keep their course to the quarter-finals steady.

For now though, Liverpool can savour a famous European victory. On nights like this, when luck and skill collide, even Plato would admit that the shadows on the cave wall aren't bad to look at after all.