Slot Calm About English Struggles In Champions League

Liverpool head Arne Slot says it is excessively early to beryllium "jumping to conclusions" astir why Premier League clubs struggled successful nan Champions League this week.

None of nan six English clubs managed to triumph nan first legs of their last-16 ties, pinch nan Reds being beaten 1-0 astatine Galatasaray.

Arsenal drew 1-1 astatine Bayer Leverkusen, Newcastle United held Barcelona astatine location by nan aforesaid score, Chelsea and Tottenham some mislaid 5-2 astatine Paris St-Germain and Atletico Madrid respectively, and Manchester City were connected nan extremity of a 3-0 conclusion astatine Real Madrid.

"To jump to a conclusion aft 1 gameday, I deliberation that's specified a mini sample size, that's ne'er nan smartest point to do," said Slot. "Maybe, aft adjacent week, we will person a wholly different conclusion.

"In general, it's not adjuvant for English clubs not to person a wintertime break. I'm not saying each these teams mislaid because we don't person a wintertime break.

"Why [the deficiency of victories]? Because you are facing, successful nan past 16 of Europe, immoderate very bully teams. And, 4 of nan 5 [other] teams successful nan Champions League played distant from home.

"That's usually an advantage to play astatine location aliases a disadvantage to play away. To jump to conclusions - [whether it is] missing a wintertime break, [or that] nan level of nan Premier League is not arsenic precocious arsenic we expected it to beryllium - that would be, for maine astatine this infinitesimal of time, not nan correct conclusion to make."