Arne Slotthe coach of Liverpoolattended the press conference today with a toothy smile when asked questions from journalists before his match against Lille in the Champions League. Everything is going well for his team, leaders of the Premier League. First of all, however, he wanted to say sweet words for coach Thomas Frank, who judged the Reds to be the best team in the world to date: “His opinion matters a lot to me, considering what he did with Brentford, but there are still many games and it’s too early to talk about it. But it’s always nice to receive compliments from a person like him.”
Is it important to finish first in this Champions League group stage?
“It’s important to win, but with this formula you think that finishing first is the best position, considering that it’s a very strange competition. Look at PSG, who are one of the most difficult teams to face, and you could meet them if you finish first… So It’s impossible to know what will happen next. Furthermore, being first does not mean being the best team, because you don’t face the same opponents as the others, just as finishing 24th does not mean being the 24th team overall.”
What do you think of this Lille team?
“I knew the coach (Bruno Genesio, ed.) from facing him (Rennes against Feyenoord in 2022, ed.) and I was surprised by the way his team played. And now, we see Lille beat Real, Atletico. .. You can be surprised even on paper, but since I have seen many Lille matches, I am no longer surprised. They deserve all the points they got, also because they had a very difficult draw. They met an almost unbeatable Sporting team in that period, that of Amorim, and now it’s our turn. Their path is even more impressive considering the calendar they have had and their current series of 21 games without defeat it means something…”.
What are Lille’s strengths?
“It’s difficult to say, because many coaches have changed their plan against us in recent months. But if I look at their last games, the one against Marseille was an open game because they press high, they’re not afraid to start from behind. But ask the Lille coach if they will maintain their usual style. We need a point to be in the top 8, but this team (Liverpool, ed.) has never played for a point. And whether we win or not, we have always tried to develop our style without adapting, except for small details. This is what we will try to do tomorrow.”