Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has shot down any notion that his side were guilty of time-wasting in their 1-0 win away to Paris Saint-Germain.
The Reds picked up one of their most gritty victories in years on Wednesday evening, thanks to Harvey Elliott‘s late winner.
PSG were easily the better side, with Liverpool having Alisson to thank for keeping the score at 0-0, but they found a way, like they so often have this season.
The Reds’ opponents were clearly stunned by the result, given the nature of it, and some of the French press were irked by the visitors’ approach.
Responding to one reporter after the game, Slot denied that Liverpool wasted time at the Parc des Princes.
We’ve seen since the very beginning of the match – your goalkeeper especially – running down the clock. Do you think your goal was actually to go home with a draw?
“I’ve played games this season where goalkeepers took much, much, much more time before they took a goal-kick than we did tonight,” Slot said.
“Or with throw-ins, sometimes it takes a minute, but that is not for you know, but for me to know – we’ve played many of these games.
“I didn’t feel we were time-wasting today, we just tried to play the game, but it was clear as the game passed by that a draw was the best possible result for us.
“In the end, we were lucky to get the win, but it didn’t feel to me that we were time-delaying that much.”
Slot also had to respond to a question about referee Davide Massa’s performance, following some big calls going in Liverpool’s favour.
Details are very important in this type of match. There are two teams and one referee who found it tough to make a couple of decisions. Do you have an opinion in regards to the refereeing tonight?
“The big difference between French [media], and Netherlands and England, is that you guys ask me questions about time delays and referee decisions,” he added.
“It’s not easy if you’re refereeing in a game like this, where the fans are so there for the home team.
“Apart from that one moment where you could argue if it’s a red with Ibou and Barcola, I didn’t feel he was in favour of us, or in favour of them.
“It was just a top referee that should be in a game like this, and if he had blown his whistle, the VAR would not have overturned it.
“And now, it was also clear for me that he shouldn’t have overturned it because it wasn’t clearly wrong.
“It is a big decision, that’s true…no I’m not going to say what I want to say – let’s keep it like this!”
Slot has nailed both of his responses, with Liverpool not exactly urgent with goal-kicks, but not actively wasting time.
Massa officiated the game well, with the Ibrahima Konate incident the only contentious moment.
Opinion will be split about whether there was enough contact on Bradley Barcola to warrant a red card, but it certainly wasn’t a howler by Massa or VAR.
It’s nothing more than sour grapes from the French media, following a night that clearly left them frustrated.
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