Jamie Carragher slammed a Liverpool star after Arne Slot’s side lost 2-0 away to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie at the Parc des Princes.
On Wednesday (8 April), the six-time European champions struggled to cope with a relentless PSG side, who went ahead after 11 minutes when Désiré Doué’s strike deflected over Giorgi Mamardashvili.
Slot’s side struggled to make any impact in the final third throughout the game and failed to register a single shot on target, while also having just 26 per cent possession.
Meanwhile, the reigning European champions had 17 shots, with seven on target. Luis Enrique’s side also dominated possession with 74 per cent.
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Khvicha Kvaratskhelia doubled the Parisians’ lead on 55 minutes, giving his side a two-goal buffer ahead of next week’s second leg at Anfield.
To the surprise of many, Liverpool started the match with a back five made up of Milos Kerkez, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté, Joe Gomez and Jeremie Frimpong, with Carragher saying the Liverpool boss got his tactics “massively wrong” while comparing the Premier League side’s performance to that of a “team from a lower division”.
“The manager has tried something but he’s got it massively wrong tactically, how he went about it,” Carragher said on CBS.
“It’s easy for me to say that after the event, but that’s what we do — we’re pundits, we speak after the game.
“They were actually more open with the back five than they would be with a back four because they went man-to-man all over the pitch and the three centre-backs had to cover the width of the pitch.”
The former Liverpool centre-back then suggested that Konaté has been “awful” throughout the 2025/26 campaign despite Van Dijk bearing the brunt of criticism.
“Defenders were jumping into midfield, there was no one to mark and Virgil van Dijk, at 34 years of age, was having to run in there and across,” he added.
“He couldn’t do it. People have criticised Van Dijk for his performances this season, but I think it’s been harsh. He plays every game, and the fella next to him has been awful all season — and poor again tonight. Konaté makes a mistake every game, so that’s not easy to play alongside.
“I still think he’s been one of Liverpool’s better players, Virgil van Dijk. But tonight, in that back three, I have never seen him so uncomfortable in a Liverpool shirt in my life.
“I think he will be pleading with Arne Slot to never play that system again because he found it so tough.
“But what I must also say — it’s not just Liverpool getting it wrong tactically — PSG were absolutely out of this world. The biggest compliment I can give them is that it was like watching Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.”
Liverpool return to action at home against Fulham on Saturday (11 April).
Topics: Liverpool, Champions League, Jamie Carragher, Arne Slot, Football, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil Van Dijk
Luke Davies