Arne Slot says Liverpool 'lacked effort' in FA Cup exit as Dutchman delivers damning message ahead of PSG showdown

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Liverpool travel to face Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night - live on TNT Sports and HBO Max - still smarting from a chastening 4-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals. Arne Slot insists there were still positives besides the result at the Etihad Stadium, but accepts that the nature of some of the goals his side conceded was unacceptable.

Slot unhappy with 'lack of effort' in goals Liverpool conceded

Video credit: TNT Sports

Arne Slot has warned his Liverpool players they face another rude awakening in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final at Paris Saint-Germain - if they produce the same level of effort which contributed to their capitulation at Manchester City last Saturday.

A hat-trick from Erling Haaland and a further strike from Antoine Semenyo lit up a one-sided contest at the Etihad Stadium as Slot's men were dumped out of the Emirates FA Cup, the latest in a long list of setbacks to plague a miserable domestic campaign.

It is now 15 defeats in all competitions this term, with the thrashing at the hands of their historic rivals their fourth since the start of March.

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Liverpool will be under mounting pressure to respond when they travel to the French capital on Wednesday to face the defending European champions - live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.

Ahead of the trip to the Parc des Princes, Slot revealed that he has held meetings with his players to dissect the defeat against Pep Guardiola's side - and pointed out during an exclusive interview with TNT Sports that a basic lack of application in certain moments has had a significant impact on results.

When asked if he was concerned by the manner of the goals conceded against Manchester City, Slot said: "Yes and no. It's not the first time this season that we've conceded goals that were a concern to me.

"Now there were four in one game, four chances conceded, four goals conceded. That's not the first time this season. I think many times this season we've only conceded one or two chances and those were goals.

"So the manner we conceded them, I think I could separate them 'two and two' where every goal you concede something goes wrong, and you would like to improve something, but two out of the four were goals I hated more to concede than the other two."

Highlights: Haaland hat-trick sends Man City to Wembley after Liverpool thrashing

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When pressed on what in particular he disliked, Slot explained: "Two of the four had to do with effort. I always mind mistakes from effort more than mistakes from being bad on a football pitch.

"Sometimes the other team does something really well, and that can happen, but two out of the four we lacked effort in those situations and that's always a bigger thing than conceding because the other team does something really special."

Slot will be as eager as his players to draw a line under the events at the Etihad, and expects a reaction in what he sees as a "nice challenge" against Paris Saint-Germain, and one that carries as many potential pitfalls.

The Dutchman described his side's 1-0 victory at the same venue last season as a "robbery", given how the Ligue 1 outfit controlled most of the play, but has called on his players to use that experience as inspiration at a time when he admits there is a lack of belief in front of goal.

When asked if confidence is currently an issue, Slot added: "Maybe. Maybe in finishing because this season, I think we can constantly see the same pattern, that we get enough chances to score, but we struggle to score.

"If we score one, we could easily score two or three, but then we're already happy with scoring one. That could be to do with confidence.

"[The 1-0 win in Paris] is a great example of how nice football is, and how special football is, because the way we played here last season... that was a 4-0 loss performance. But we beat them 1-0.

"What we can take from that is that they are able to play with an intensity and a tempo and can generate a lot of chances.

"But if we keep fighting, back then we had a very good goalkeeper with Alisson Becker, and we now have one with Giorgi Mamardashvili. There's always a chance on the other side to hurt them in a counter-attack, and that's what we did last time when we were here.

"There are some tactical things we can take from that game, because PSG have kept on playing the same style as last season."

Wirtz: I had to accept I couldn't have immediate impact

Slot has described the prospect of facing familiar French foes as like coming up against a "washing machine", due to the speed with which the likes of Vitinha and Joao Neves quickly recycle the ball and press their opponents.

The midfield will be a key area, as always, with Florian Wirtz expected to feature in the first Champions League quarter-final of his career.

Florian Wirtz is expecting an intense game in Paris

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Plenty was expected from the Germany international following his big-money summer arrival from Bayer Leverkusen, and the 22-year-old says he now feels settled on Merseyside after a slow period of adaptation.

"I know that they paid a lot for me," Wirtz told TNT Sports. "I still think that I'm improving. Of course, it was a difficult start for me, because I wanted to impact the team immediately, but I had to accept it.

"I'm feeling very good now, on a physical level. Also, I'm feeling good now in England, because this was a big change for me. I'm just trying to make the team better.

"I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. The team has played them last season already, so we get maybe a little revenge. They won the Champions League, so you cannot underestimate them.

"We have shown, especially in this competition this season, that we are there in the big games. We are calm for tomorrow, and the team has enough confidence to beat them."

How to watch Paris Saint-Germain v Liverpool

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