Liverpool’s hierarchy, including owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG), have reportedly made their feelings clear on whether Arne Slot will be head coach next season.
Having been beaten 4-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals on April 4, Liverpool faced a trip to Paris on Wednesday (April 8), where they took on the reigning European champions at the Parc des Princes in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.
Désiré Doué’s deflected shot gave Luis Enrique’s side the lead after 11 minutes, with Liverpool struggling to deal with the intensity of the French side throughout.
By the 56th minute, the Parisiens were 2-0 up, this time thanks to a piece of trickery from Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
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The Reds failed to register a single shot on target on the night, while also having just 26 per cent of the ball.
As well as the Liverpool players, Slot was heavily criticised after the defeat, with former Reds centre-back Jamie Carragher saying the Dutchman got his tactics “massively wrong”.
“The manager has tried something [a back five] but he's got it massively wrong tactically in 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 events in the game.
“They were actually more open with the back five than they would be with the 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 48-year-old then claimed that Virgil van Dijk would likely be pleading with the manager to “never play that system ever again”.
With another defeat comes more scrutiny, with The Athletic reporting Slot will be sacked if Liverpool exit the Champions League.
However, a report from The Telegraph claims that “Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group believe that Arne Slot will lead the club next season”, despite the team’s ongoing struggles and the likely failure to defend their Premier League title this term.
The report suggests that the consensus within the club’s hierarchy is that Slot deserves to at least start next season in charge of the side.
Liverpool return to action at home against Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday (April 11) before hosting PSG in the Champions League quarter-final on April 14.
Topics: Arne Slot, Premier League, Champions League, Football, Liverpool, Jamie Carragher
Luke Davies