Liverpool will be looking to get their season back on track when they take on Galatasaray in the Champions League this week and there is likely to be a tense atmosphere at Anfield
Liverpool are gearing up for a pivotal encounter with Galatasaray in the Champions League on Wednesday – with manager Arne Slot under huge pressure to secure victory.
The Reds endured a 1-0 reverse in the opening leg of their last 16 tie, leaving the Reds facing a substantial task to advance to the quarter-finals. Liverpool will be hoping to harness the Anfield atmosphere to their benefit, though the side were jeered at the end of their previous home match against Tottenham, following an embarrassing 1-1 draw.
Slot’s attention now shifts back to the Champions League as he seeks to revive Liverpool’s campaign. The Dutch manager will be hoping his players can end the pattern against Galatasaray and avoid repeating previous errors. Here’s all the latest news from Anfield.
Arne Slot ‘damaging’ claim
Slot was left lamenting familiar shortcomings as his team squandered a golden chance against Spurs, reports the Mirror.
While the Reds closed to within two points of Aston Villa in fourth, the Liverpool manager admitted his side might fall short of their targets if they cannot address some of their persistent problems.
“Of course it is damaging but how many times has this been damaging for us (this season)?” he said “We don’t help ourselves at all. It is so many times this season we have created much more xG or chances than the amount of goals we score.
“Usually in the Premier League you see a lot of teams outperforming their xG but that definitely is not what we are doing. Then the game stays tight until the end and we struggle to keep clean sheets.
“We haven’t had as many clean sheets as you would want if you want to go higher up in the table. That’s a bad combination for picking up the amount of points we want to pick up.”
Crisis talks emerge as fans’ exit addressed
Liverpool star Dominik Szoboszlai has disclosed the team has already held discussions about the significance of securing a Champions League spot. The midfielder also expressed his worries about the mood at Anfield ahead of their crucial match against Galatasaray.
He said: “We had already a couple of weeks ago a talk between each other saying: ‘Guys we don’t have such a lot of time to do this right so we have to wake up and start to go in a way that we want to play Champions League next season’.
“We have Galatasaray on Wednesday and that will be a tough game because we felt it there. I don’t think it helps us also that after 80 minutes people start to go home, it doesn’t help us at all. Stick with us.
“Everyone is noticing that and when we concede a goal still people are leaving the stadium – you don’t leave when we score. I understand the frustration but we need them, we need everybody, and that’s the most important.”
Arne Slot sack latest
Odds have now been slashed for Slot to receive the sack from 5/1 to 7/2 following the Tottenham embarrassment and 82% of bets placed on the next manager to leave their post in the last 12 hours have been for Slot, according to Oddschecker.
The odds on favourite to replace Slot if he leaves the club is former Reds midfielder and ex-Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso, at 4/11.