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Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, looks on prior to the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Brighton & Hove Albion FC at Anfield on November 02, 2024 in Liverpool, England. | Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images
Slot is careful to note the impact of the new format, however
Arne Slot spoke to the press ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League tie with Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday night, and the Liverpool head coach acknowledged the gravity of the occasion:
Like you see it, it is a big European tie, which is almost always the situation if you play Champions League, even in the new format. Although there might be maybe one, or two, or three teams that are not as known as all the other teams that are in the competition. But definitely for all the reasons... but maybe mainly because of what Xabi Alonso did for this club, especially in Europe as well, but maybe more because of how he manages Leverkusen, how strong they are domestically and in Europe last season. They were incredible, of course. This season, in my opinion, they are still the same - just as good, but a bit more unlucky when it comes to results. [It’s] a game to look forward to for many people who love this game.
For many on Merseyside, the return of Xabi Alonso will be dramatic, both due to his playing history at Liverpool and the fact that he did not become Liverpool’s manager after Jürgen Klopp’s departure.
Slot was asked to comment on Alonso’s impact as a coach, and went pragmatic and diplomatic about what makes Alonso “special” as a coach:
That is difficult to say if you don’t work with him on a daily basis. He is special, that’s clear. If you go to a club who were bottom of the league and with the same players you bring them all the way up without spending that much money that summer, only bringing in one or two very good players - and he had a season where I think they only lost the final of the Europa League - it tells you he is special. What it is that makes him special is, for me, difficult to say because I haven’t faced him yet and I haven’t worked with him.
What might be the situation is he has worked with very good managers in the past, he was a player with an incredible insight into the game, he knew when to be where, and he played at the highest levels, so he also probably knows and understands how these players feel in certain moments. That probably all contributes to why he is such a good manager. What makes him exactly so special, the best way to find that out is to talk to the players he worked with - and I haven’t done that yet.
In terms of the occasion itself, Slot spoke also on the impact of the new Champions League format:
That is obviously different. Normally you play an away or a home leg and then you can prepare even better for the second time you play against them. Now, you every time play against a new opponent. Every pot has some very strong teams and some pots have maybe not the same strength, so you can be a bit lucky with the draw or you can be a bit unlucky - then it has to do with which teams do you face at home and which ones do you face away from home?
The first thing I would say is maybe there is a bit more luck coming into ending up higher or lower [in the table], [but] on the other hand, if you play eight games instead of six, normally when you play more games luck ends up somewhere in the middle. What I always said until now, ask me after eight games or after this season. It is a better way to judge this format than at the moment. The only thing I like as a person who loves football is that on every evening I can switch to a game that is a really nice one to watch, but that is not what I am here for at the moment! On Wednesday evening, I will definitely find a game that I am looking forward to - and hopefully the people look forward to Liverpool-Leverkusen tomorrow and we don’t let them down.
