Champions League: Slot provides Liverpool assessment ahead of Milan trip | OneFootball

Liverpool boss Arne Slot admitted that he has ‘a lot of respect’ for Milan, but insists that his side are not scared of the challenge that lies ahead of them when they travel to San Siro for the first Champions League fixture of the 2024-25 campaign on Tuesday night.

Milan and Liverpool, two of the three most successful teams in the competition’s history, will meet in the iconic San Siro in their first match of the newly-formatted Champions League.

Slot assesses Milan-Liverpool

The two sides had differing levels of fortune over the weekend, as Milan picked up their first three points of the season with an emphatic 4-0 over Venezia on Saturday, while Liverpool fell to a surprise 1-0 loss at home to Nottingham Forest.

Despite the slip up at the weekend, Slot has no fears heading into the clash with the Rossoneri.

“I don’t think any manager is scared to play the other team but we have a lot of respect for AC Milan,” Slot said in his pre-match press conference, reported via the Liverpool Echo.

‘They have quality, we’re not scared, but we respect all their players. They have shown they are in good form with a very good 4-0 win. Scared is not the word we would use. We respect a lot.”

Slot is not decided on how the new Champions League format will go. He thinks it is better to check back in a few months’ time.

“Difficult to say how many points are needed, first time we’ve played it. We went through with Feyenoord with six points one time. It’s clear if you want to be in the first 8 you need to win a lot for the points.

“The format you can ask me better in the end. As someone who loves football, every night there is a nice fixture. For example, tomorrow, everyone who loves football is looking forward to our game. It is positive for the person at home, for the players, that is something we have to find out.”

Slot on Chiesa and Leao

Slot also provided an update on Federico Chiesa, who is yet to play for Liverpool after his deadline day transfer from Juventus.

Chiesa is part of the travelling squad, and could potentially make his Liverpool debut in Italy on Tuesday night.

“I bring in quality players and I believe he is. He combines quality with work rate and the culture of this club, this team, he brings that with combinations of several positions.

“He is with the team and since I said it is the first time he is here, it would be a big surprise if he starts tomorrow. So I don’t think you should expect him to start but he will make some minutes if we needed him.

“But the first time with us, I don’t expect him to start with us. He’s had some training time and too early to play 90 mins but hopefully some minutes in the upcoming fixtures.”

The Liverpool boss also explained how to stop Milan’s star attacker, Rafael Leao.

“We have studied his quality and he is one who catches your eye. How to stop him at his best? We defend as a team to stop the quality of Rafa Leao. They have quality players and he is one of their top players in my opinion.”