Arne Slot has voiced his displeasure at Liverpool’s work ethic against Southampton, expecting a big jump in intensity at home to Paris Saint-Germain.
The Reds went 16 points clear at the top of the Premier League on Saturday, but it wasn’t the most convincing of performances at home to bottom-of-the-table Saints, despite the 3-1 win.
The first half was particularly poor, with Liverpool much improved after the break, and Slot made three substitutions at half-time.
Speaking to Gary Lineker on Match of the Day, the Reds boss made it clear that he wasn’t impressed by his team’s work rate when watching on from the stands.
“It’s a sign of a good team that you can win in different ways,” Slot said.
“In Paris, I had to change because of tactics, now I had to change because of work rate. I don’t think that has happened a lot this season.
“It was a poor performance first half, not only in the way we played, but also because of the energy we brought.
“Before we played in Paris, I thought it might be an advantage for us that we didn’t play at the weekend but Paris Saint-Germain did.
“But after half an hour they were 4-0 up, so they were just working on their intensity and their habits.
“Now, for us, we play this weekend and Tuesday against PSG, and we must not take one step up, not two, not three, but maybe four or five to come to the intensity level that we experienced when we played them.
“The only good thing in the first 45 minutes was that they didn’t run at all! They saved their energy. For me, that’s not a good thing because I believe it’s better to just go all in and create habits.
“I know these players are capable of doing much, much, much better when it comes to performance, but also definitely in terms of work rate.
“That is what I expect this week.”
It is always refreshing to hear Slot speaking negatively in victory as well as defeat, highlighting the level he expects from his side.
The Dutchman could easily focus on the positives and not call out his players, but he has extremely high standards and knows big improvements are needed against PSG on Tuesday.
The Ligue 1 champions comprehensively outplayed Liverpool on Wednesday, and if the Reds don’t improve significantly, they could find themselves dumped out of the Champions League.
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