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\t<\/div>Luis Enrique admits he was \u2018surprised\u2019 by Arne Slot\u2019s decision to play five at the back in Liverpool\u2019s 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
PSG delivered a dominant display in Paris with Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scoring in each half for the Champions League holders.<\/p>\n
For his side\u2019s trip to the French capital, Slot opted to play a back three of Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez with Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez operating as wing-backs.<\/p>\n
However, Liverpool struggled to trouble PSG as they failed to register a shot on target and had just 26 per cent of possession.<\/p>\n
Speaking after PSG\u2019s victory, Luis Enrique was asked whether he was surprised by Slot\u2019s decision to start with a defensive formation.<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s a surprise because it\u2019s the first time Arne Slot has played with three at the back this year,\u2019 Luis Enrique told Canal Plus.<\/p>\n \u2018It showed that they\u2019re changing and trying something new, which is normal. We\u2019re used to opponents adapting to us, so no worries. We\u2019ll be looking to win the second game.\u2019<\/p>\n In a separate interview with TNT Sports, Luis Enrique added: \u2018I know Arne Slot is a great coach, it\u2019s the first time they play with five at the back.<\/p>\n \u2018But we are used to seeing other teams change formation to play against us, it\u2019s normal.<\/p>\n \u2018I think they played a great much, they are a physical team, very strong, have individual, quality players and it was a very nice match. It\u2019s always a pleasure playing against Arne Slot and his teams because they try to play football in an offensive play and it was nice to watch.\u2019<\/p>\n Explaining his formation after Liverpool\u2019s defeat to PSG, Slot admitted he wanted to counter the threat posed by Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes on the wings.<\/p>\n \u2018They have pace from everywhere all over the pitch, so it doesn\u2019t matter where you look, you see pace, incredible pace, Hakimi and Nuno Mendes are an unbelievable offensive threat, apart from all the others, so we played with Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, that was the thought behind it and that way I thought we could try to press them really high and aggressive because Jeremie and Milos are also two players, if you press Hakimi and Nuno Mendes they play and they start to run,\u2019 Slot said.<\/p>\n \u2018They don\u2019t start to run by the way, they start to sprint, actually it\u2019s not even sprinting, it\u2019s just a level above sprinting. You have to cope with that and usually players like Jeremie and Milos are better equipped for that than out-and-out wingers.<\/p>\n \u2018But I think we could also see when we tried to press them high and aggressive those were also the moments we were completely ripped apart, I think we had five or six big chances from them when we tried to be high and aggressive, it tells you how difficult it is to play against this team.<\/p>\n Sporting CP 0-2 Arsenal \u2018We try to do this in a high press and in a low block means we have more defenders on the pitch, more tight, more aggressiveness, I think you noticed this bringing Joe in, you add set-piece quality as well.<\/p>\n \u2018There seems to be a lot of focus on the system but what is the difference if I played Rio [Ngumoha] or Cody Gakpo as a left winger because Milos had to play as a left winger facing Hakimi and there were four defenders left.<\/p>\n \u2018If I could also explain it as a 4-3-3 with Florian on the left, Hugo in the middle and Milos on the left, three midfielders and four defenders but because they are defensively minded people see it as a five, that\u2019s the way I would describe it by the way.<\/p>\n \u2018I think the margins are really small, just try to think about it if we had tried to play with real wingers here today what would that have looked like against Hakimi and Nuno Mendes.\u2019<\/p>\n For more stories like this,\u00a0check our sport page<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on ![\"Liverpool's](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_292465830-4cf3.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646\")
\t<\/div>![\"Soccer](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_292467058-7695.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646\")
\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\tChampions League quarter-final results\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
Real Madrid 1-2 Bayern Munich
Barcelona 0-2 Atletico Madrid
Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Liverpool<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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