Liverpool manager Arne Slot says it is too early to “jump”.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot says it is too early to “jump to conclusions” about why Premier League clubs have struggled in the Champions League this week.
The first leg of their last-16 fixtures saw none of the six English clubs secure a victory, with the Reds suffering a 1–0 defeat at Galatasaray.
Arsenal drew 1–1 away to Bayer Leverkusen, Newcastle United held Barcelona to the same score at home, Chelsea and Tottenham both lost 5–2 to Paris Saint-Germain and Atlético Madrid, respectively, and Manchester City was on the end of a 3–0 defeat to Real Madrid.
“To jump to any conclusions after a game day, I think it’s such a small sample size, it’s never the wisest thing to do,” Slott said. “Maybe, after next week, we will have a completely different conclusion.
In general, it is helpful for English clubs to have a winter break. I am not implying that all these teams lost due to the absence of a winter break.
“Why [the lack of victories]? The last 16 of Europe features some very strong teams. And, four out of five [other] teams in the Champions League played away from home.
Playing at home is generally advantageous, while playing away is generally disadvantageous. Jump to conclusions – [whether it is] I’m missing winter vacation [or that] the level of the Premier League is not as high as we expected – that would not be the right conclusion for me at this time.”
