Slot says PSG exit may have helped Liverpool win last season’s title

Arne Slot said an early Champions League exit may have contributed to Liverpool winning the Premier League last year and warned his team must improve in both boxes to secure silverware this season. His side’s 13-game unbeaten run ended at Bournemouth on Saturday, leaving the reigning champions sixth in the Premier League.

Slot argued the reduced workload that followed Liverpool’s last-16 exit to Paris Saint-Germain in March could have helped their title run: "This is not going to be a popular opinion but maybe the reason we won the league last season is that we had to play Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16, because they beat us and we had every time a [full] week to prepare for our next game." The defeat to PSG came when Liverpool were 15 points clear with nine league games remaining and they lost on penalties.

Liverpool’s contrasting Champions League form means a place in the last 16 will be guaranteed with victory against Qarabag at Anfield on Wednesday. Slot’s defensive options will be limited for that match, with Ibrahima Konaté absent following the death of his father and Joe Gomez injured.

Slot said injuries and midweek European games have taken a toll and that his team were again poor defensively and wasteful against Bournemouth. "For me it’s so simple. In between the boxes we are a very good team... If we improve in both boxes, I think we are able to win something this season.