Liverpool look to apply last season’s Champions League lessons under Slot | OneFootball

Liverpool’s Champions League Lessons Shape Slot’s Approach

Arne Slot’s first year in charge could hardly have gone better domestically, yet the memory that lingers is not of title celebrations but of the night Paris Saint-Germain knocked Liverpool out of the Champions League on penalties. That defeat, as Gregg Evans writes in The Athletic, is driving the Dutchman’s approach to Europe this season.

Learning from Last Season

Slot’s frustration was obvious. Liverpool had stormed through the league phase, winning their first seven games and fielding their strongest line-up early to secure top spot. The strategy was meant to give them an easier draw, but instead they met PSG, who had scraped through via a play-off. “If in tennis you are the No 1 seed, it is better to face the No 24 than the 12, but it is a ranking based on years,” Slot said. “Now we are in a new format where some teams are high in the league table because they had a lucky draw and some teams are low because they have a very difficult draw. It is far off to say it is an advantage to be one or two. You might be lucky, you might be very unlucky.”

In Mikos Gouka’s book, Arne Slot, The New Era, the coach reflected further. He said the “No 1 team in the league phase should be drawn against the lowest-ranked club when the knockout phase has been played.” He even questioned whether using his strongest XI so consistently was worth it, given that they still faced the toughest opponent possible.

Managing Workload and Squad Depth

Slot did rotate late in the group stage, but for much of the campaign Liverpool relied heavily on a core group, with 11 players featuring in more than half the minutes across the first seven games. Injuries also forced his hand, with Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Mohamed Salah starting every match. “We were more tired in March than in November,” Slot admitted, acknowledging the physical toll of a campaign without a winter break.

Photo: IMAGO

That fatigue told. Liverpool lost the Carabao Cup final to Newcastle and were edged out by PSG within the same week. It hardened Slot’s belief that he must use his squad more wisely. The recruitment of Alexander Isak and a handful of other summer arrivals means Liverpool are better equipped to rotate while maintaining quality.

X: @LFC

Building for a Deep Run

Van Dijk has echoed that sentiment, saying, “If everyone stays fit and looks after themselves, making sure they are in the best shape physically, mentally, and in form, that’s the responsibility we all have to feel. Everyone has a role to play this season.”

Photo: IMAGO

With a deeper squad and clearer lessons learned, Liverpool may now be better placed to balance their priorities across competitions. Slot has maintained that “nothing good comes from a defeat,” but pragmatism may guide some of his selections in the league phase as he looks to keep his stars fresh for the spring.

Champions League Challenge

Liverpool’s task remains formidable. They have been drawn with two of Europe’s biggest sides and could yet meet another of PSG, Real Madrid, Inter Milan or Bayern Munich later in the competition. The new format was supposed to create more elite match-ups, but it also creates an element of randomness that no club can control. This time, Liverpool hope to have the legs to go the distance, whatever the draw throws at them.

Our View – Anfield Index Analysis

For Liverpool fans, Slot’s words ring true. Last season felt like a missed opportunity, not because of poor performances but because of bad luck and fatigue converging at the wrong time. Supporters will welcome the idea of smarter rotation, especially with a deeper squad in place.

The addition of Isak has lifted expectations and given the attack more variety, but the real challenge is keeping key players fit through the winter grind. Fans remember the physical toll that saw Liverpool run out of steam in March and will be eager to see whether this season is different.

There is also an appetite for revenge in Europe. PSG may have been worthy winners, but Liverpool’s performance across two legs showed they can go toe-to-toe with the best. The belief is that, with fresher legs and better squad utilisation, the team can push deeper into the competition and perhaps bring No. 7 back to Anfield.

Supporters know that luck still plays a part, but with Slot’s tactical tweaks and a balanced approach to squad management, there is confidence that this season could deliver something special.