Ally McCoist ‘Shocked’ by what he saw at Liverpool before PSG showdown
Liverpool take on Paris Saint-Germain in the huge second leg of the Champions League round of 16 tie at Anfield on Tuesday.
Despite being dominated in Paris, a late goal from Harvey Elliott was enough to hand the Reds a one goal advantage back on Merseyside.
With only one goal in it, Liverpool will need to be at their best against the Parisians, better than their sluggish start in the 3-1 win over Southampton last time out.
Ally McCoist sends Liverpool message
Liverpool are having an excellent season under Slot and are already well on track to win the Premier League title, with focus now on the Champions League and Carabao Cup.
Alisson was hailed the best in the world after his heroics in Paris, and Anfield will be praying for straight-forward progression to the next round, but it is never that easy.
Furthermore, with the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle on Sunday (16 March), Slot won’t want his side to burn out ahead of a trip to Wembley.
Speaking live on talkSPORT (11 March, 7:08 am), Ally McCoist admitted that Liverpool will need to step up: “I think a lot of people were really, really surprised, if not shocked, at just how dominant PSG were for the entire game, never mind parts of the game.
“However, many teams would say that good teams, great teams find a way to soak it up and hurt them on the break and that’s exactly what happened.
“We’ve seen, in the last couple of games, I’ve seen of Liverpool, generally speaking against top-four sides in Manchester City and Newcastle, I thought they were extremely comfortable without being brilliant, I just thought they looked confident, probably had another gear to go up.
“My point is, I think Liverpool might need to go up that gear tonight, they’re playing a far better team.”
Slot and Liverpool ready to step it up
McCoist isn’t wrong. There have been several occasions this season where Liverpool have not performed to the best of their abilities but have still come out on top.
Even on Saturday (8 March), the Reds found themselves losing to bottom of the table Southampton at half-time before stepping it up in the second half and winning 3-1.
However, if the Reds can step it up a gear against PSG and cruise through, it sends a real warning to the rest of the Champions League.
| Team | Possession | Shots | Shots on target |
| PSG | 71% | 27 | 10 |
| Liverpool | 29% | 2 | 1 |
In the Premier League this season, the Merseyside outfit haven’t always needed to be at their best, meaning they are in a position to tackle huge games like this at full throttle.
In a week where Slot’s men face two massive games, the boss may well be ready to unleash the full power version of his side that can get the job done with ease.