Luis Enrique hails Slot for creating 'almost perfect' Liverpool

Two of Europe's best sides this season meet on Wednesday as PSG host Liverpool at the Parc des Princes in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie. PSG are unbeaten in Ligue 1 and coasting towards another French title, while Liverpool sit 13 points clear in the Premier League and finished top of the 36-team league phase in the Champions League.

"It's difficult to imagine a better match-up on paper, between two dominant teams, with two slightly different ways of playing but teams with dominant styles," Luis Enrique told reporters. Liverpool have lost on both their previous visits to PSG, in 1997 and 2018. The second defeat came months before they went on to lift the trophy later that same season in Madrid, beating Tottenham in the final.

The Reds also twice lost in the final under Klopp, both times to Real Madrid and most recently in 2022 at the Stade de France in a game overshadowed by the chaos outside the ground that left many fans traumatised. Slot replaced Klopp last summer as the German stood down after nine years at the helm, and has made a remarkable impact on the six-time European champions.

"Liverpool have been one of the best teams in Europe over the past few years, they won the Champions League (in 2019)," said Luis Enrique. "It was difficult to improve on what Klopp did but Arne Slot has succeeded in creating an almost perfect team." Mohamed Salah is enjoying a sensational campaign with 30 goals and 22 assists, emerging as a frontrunner for the Ballon d'Or, but Luis Enrique was quick to point out Liverpool pose several dangers to his team.

"There's a player like Salah with incredible stats, but there's not just Salah, there are lots of top-class players, it's a very complete team," said the Spaniard. "That motivates us and it's time for us to also show we've got what it takes. They have one of the best attacks in Europe, we're going to look to keep the ball, but we'll need to be careful with their counter-attacks, they've got three fighter jets up front."

PSG needed to go through the play-offs after a slow start in the Champions League saw them lose three of their opening five matches. But they crushed domestic rivals Brest 10-0 on aggregate to power into the last 16 and are unbeaten in 22 matches in all competitions. "We have to be able to do what we've been doing since the start of the season, there's nothing that changes," said Luis Enrique.

The former Barca boss concluded as he said: "We know that we're facing the most consistent team this season, but the plan doesn't change. It's going to be a hard-fought, difficult game. The first match is not going to decide everything, but it's a very important one for us. It's hard for opponents to play at the Parc des Princes with the pressure of the crowd."

 

March 4, 2025