Arne Slot admits Liverpool will need 'very special' performance against PSG

Slot's team is close to facing elimination at the hands of PSG for the second year running following a lacklustre showing in Paris during the previous week.

Liverpool could not manage even one effort on goal at the Parc des Princes, and Slot recognised that they must elevate their game considerably to surprise Luis Enrique's squad at Anfield.

"We know we need an exceptional performance to go to the next round but that's completely normal when you face the champions of Europe," Slot told reporters on Monday.

"In the 49 home games we have played under me, 36 times we were able to score two goals or more.

"Yes, we have not played all these 49 games against Paris Saint-Germain, I realise that, but the Premier League and Champions League opponents we had were very strong.

"So there is a belief we can do special things tomorrow but we need to be very, very, very special to achieve that."

Slot has faced increasing criticism after Liverpool's poor attempt to retain the Premier League crown and their humiliating 4-0 loss to Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Following three straight losses to Brighton, City, and PSG, Liverpool silenced some doubters temporarily with a 2-0 victory over Fulham on Saturday.

However, a lackadaisical departure from the Champions League would heighten the scrutiny on Slot before the upcoming Merseyside clash with Everton on Sunday.

'Start aggressive'

Slot understands that Liverpool must at least mount a stronger challenge than they did in Paris, where they had trouble holding onto the ball and seldom posed a threat to PSG's backline.

"We are playing the champions of Europe so that makes the task more difficult but not impossible," he said.

"For now let's just focus on the job on hand, start aggressive and make sure we can get back in the tie.

"Even Saturday showed how important a goal is... minutes (later) we scored the second. That is what football is about, a goal can change the momentum, which happened negatively for us at Manchester City."

Although Slot faced backlash for Liverpool's subdued showing in the first leg, the Reds manager maintained that his team could succeed using a comparable strategy at Anfield.

"People probably find it very hard what I am about to say now but the approach is not so different tomorrow than it was in Paris. For the people who know me I never tell them to play in a low block for 90 minutes," he said.

"You could see we pressed them high on multiple occasions. Unfortunately, seven or eight of those moments led them to being one-on-one with our goalkeeper.

"The last time we faced each other they had the ball for 76 percent of the time, so that's the first thing we have to change tomorrow, to have the ball more.

"If we have it more then it's nice to have the attacking threat on the pitch and that's what we will have tomorrow."