Arne Slot takes pride in how Liverpool exited Champions League

LONDON – While Liverpool manager Arne Slot called his team’s exit from the Champions League a “shock”, he took solace in losing to an excellent Paris Saint-Germain side in a wildly entertaining two-legged tie that needed a penalty shoot-out to decide the outcome.

In what the Dutchman labelled “the best game of football I’ve ever been involved in”, PSG beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties to advance to the quarter-finals, after winning the March 11 second leg at Anfield 1-0 thanks to a goal from Ousmane Dembele.

“Yeah, of course it’s a shock,” Slot said.

“But if you have to go out, and go out in a way like we did against one of the best teams in Europe and make such a fight out of it... I hope and think that every fan around the world was hoping that this game just kept on going, that it wouldn’t stop because it was incredible.

“And in the end, they won.”

PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved spot kicks from Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones, while the visitors converted all their efforts.

Liverpool had won last week’s first leg in Paris 1-0.

Their latest loss was a rare low in their season of highs. The Reds hold a huge advantage in the English Premier League title race and can hoist the League Cup trophy on March 16 with a victory over Newcastle United.

Slot’s men were considered favourites to win their first Champions League title since 2019 after topping the table through the eight-game league phase, with victories in their first seven matches.

He had warned throughout, however, that winning the league phase did not mean much, and it turned out he was right.

“We really showed ourselves. We can be proud of what we did, won seven games in a row. We got out in a way that I think we’ve impressed Europe,” Slot added.

“But yeah, it is something now to take into consideration that we end up first in the league table and then face Paris Saint-Germain in the next round.

“We were so unlucky to play Paris Saint-Germain, but in the end if you want to win the tournament you need to beat teams like Paris Saint-Germain.”

PSG boss Luis Enrique, meanwhile, said both his team and Liverpool deserved a berth in the quarter-finals, such was the terrific, nail-biting battle between the two sides.

The Spaniard beamed with pride, in particular about how his squad rallied from being a goal down after the first leg.

“Both of the teams deserved to go to the next phase. They play better than us here, but I think my team at Anfield, in a special stadium, showed great personality and character,” he said.

“We tried to play our best, but it was difficult as they’re so intense. Both teams deserved to qualify. But when we shoot at the penalty shoot-out, we showed great character. I think it shows clearly the team we are.”

The French Ligue 1 leaders have never won the Champions League, losing to Bayern Munich in the 2020 final, but this could be their year.

PSG, who will face Aston Villa or Club Brugge in the last eight, also earned huge praise from pundits for their hard-fought victory.

“You’ve seen four perfect penalties under extreme pressure. You’ve got to give PSG big credit,” former England striker Alan Shearer said on the Amazon Prime broadcast.

“The disappointment of losing that first game but playing really, really well... and coming back to Anfield and soaking up pressure and then taking it to extra time and penalties and seeing those four perfect penalties, they’ve really put in a magnificent effort over the two games. They deserve to go through.” REUTERS