‘Could have been the final’ – PSG coach lets slip ambitious tactical plan v ‘best in Europe’ Liverpool

PSG coach Luis Enrique has given an insight into his side’s approach for their last-16 Champions League tie against Liverpool in what has set up an enticing encounter, while Brazilian defender Marquinhos has also fired Arne Slot’s side a warning.

The Merseyside club have been firing on all cylinders this season, suffering just four defeats from the 43 games manager Arne Slot has taken charge of so far. And with Liverpool winning 32 of those matches to give Slot a superb 74.42 win percentage record, the Reds are cruising towards what appears to be a glorious first season at the helm for the Dutchman.

With a 13-point lead at the top of the Premier League all but guaranteeing the Reds only a second English league crown in 35 years, and with the Carabao Cup final to come in two weekends, focus is now being turned back towards the Champions League, and with Liverpool chasing a seventh-ever success in Europe’s premier competition.

Standing in their way, though, for a place in the quarter-finals are French side PSG – and the Ligue 1 giants themselves go into the contest in absolutely devastating form.

The French giants are 13 points clear of the chasing pack in Ligue 1, with Saturday’s 4-1 crushing of Lille illustrating their recent fine form.

Now Enrique has vowed to fight fire with fire and go at Liverpool with all guns blazing and in setting up what looks like an irresistible tie.

Speaking to L’Equipe, Enrique said: “They are the team in the best form in Europe, both in terms of results and play. It could have been a Champions League final, we will try to do it with our weapons.”

“We’re not going to change much, today was a test; Liverpool and Lille have similar things, we put them under such pressure that they could no longer play from the back, they had to play long.

“It will be different, it will be very complicated, of course, but we are in the best period of the season.

“We will play against the best team in Europe, qualified brilliantly, but it is not in our mentality to speculate, protect ourselves, stay defensive, we will attack and we will try to turn that in our favour.”

DON’T MISS 🔴 Liverpool given monumental Mo Salah lift as trio are emphatically ruled OUT of transfer equation

Slot assesses PSG as Marquinhos fires Liverpool warning

Slot himself has also spoken about PSG warmly, having also pinpointed their best assets.

“At this stage of the competition, the quality of opponent is only going to be of a very high standard and in PSG we have drawn a team and a club with real European pedigree,” he told Liverpool’s official website.

“They qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League in style earlier this week with a big win against Brest and they had some really good results in the league phase, defeating Stuttgart, Manchester City, Girona and Salzburg.

“As is the case with ourselves, PSG are top of their domestic league and are enjoying a long unbeaten run. This tells us all that we need to know about the challenge that we will face, but it is also a challenge that we will look forward to, knowing that we also fully deserve to be in the last 16.

“Of course, our immediate focus is on our upcoming Premier League fixtures, starting with Manchester City on Sunday, but we will be doing everything we can to ensure that we are in the best possible shape when the Champions League resumes.”

Meanwhile, PSG defender Marquinhos insists his side go into the game in fine fettle.

“It’s a perfect scenario before a match like Liverpool,” he told L’Equipe, having netted PSG’s second goal in their 4-1 victory over Lille. “We are in great shape, some players have returned to the team, all the lights are green.

“It’s a perfect scenario because we win and we have full confidence. We must not stop, the staff push us a lot to do our best.

“I don’t know if we sent a message today, our very good form has been going on for a while now. We really wanted to prepare very well for the Champions League and that’s what we did.

“The coach is very demanding with us, we have a quality bench and everyone knows that if he is not good he will go to the bench. We really rely on a collective, it’s been a long time, we’ve progressed step by step, and now we’re ready to put on great performances like that. But there are always things to improve.”

Latest Liverpool transfer news: Ajax trio targeted; Fulham star’s admission

In other news, Liverpool scouts took another look at Ajax defender Jorrel Hato, but were also watching two of his teammates on their most recent scouting mission, a report has revealed.

The interest in Hato stems from Arne Slot’s desire to sign a new left-back to compete with Andy Robertson, and one of those reported targets, Fulham’s Antonee Robinson, has also made his feelings clear on a prospective move to Anfield.

Elsewhere, the Reds are potentially ready to let Giorgi Mamardashvili depart Anfield on loan once again following an update on the future of regular No.1 Alisson Becker.

IN-FOCUS: How Liverpool and PSG’s form compares this season