Liverpool FC, the winners of the league phase, fail to reach the last 16 of the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain. The English team then suggest a change of format.
12.03.2025, 12:32
12.03.2025, 12:34
SDA
But it is well understood: Liverpool FC did not present the image of a bad loser. Coach Arne Slot praised the opponent's strengths. He believes the Parisians can even win the Champions League, something the French side never managed to do in the era with Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Never before has he been involved in such a good and intense game of football, said the Dutch coach. "And after all, we've already played against Manchester City, Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen this season. In those games, the intensity was at least as high for 25 minutes - but nowhere near the 120 minutes we played against PSG on Tuesday."
It may have come as a surprise that Liverpool, the sovereign leaders of the English Premier League, failed to progress at home after their away win in Paris despite a "good performance" (Slot quote). The biggest surprise in this round of 16, however, was that Liverpool made it to the penalty shoot-out at all. PSG dominated the first leg - and lost the game anyway - and the Parisians were also clearly superior in the second leg, at least in extra time.
The Champions League is being played according to the current format for the first time this year. After the first two play-off rounds (play-off and round of 16), Arne Slot is now suggesting a change in the format: "It is of course unfortunate that we, as winners of the league phase, can already face such a strong opponent as PSG in the first knockout game. Of course, the draw was made and we could have been in the other half of the table. On the other hand, Bruges, Sporting, Feyenoord and Benfica are also in the running and were ranked behind Paris in the league phase. Shouldn't it be the case that the best team in the league phase plays against the worst team in the league phase?"
Arne Slot would therefore like to see playoffs based on the Swiss ice hockey system. This enhances the qualifying phase or, in the case of the Champions League, the league phase. But Slot also knows: "If you want to win the Champions League, you have to be able to beat any opponent - no matter when."
