UEFA Champions League: Slot confident ahead of Milan clash

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has expressed respect for AC Milan but insists his team is undaunted as they prepare for their opening Uefa Champions League cracker at the San Siro stadium on Tuesday night.

Liverpool and Milan, two of the most successful teams in the competition’s history, will face off in their first match of the newly formatted Uefa Champions League.

Milan heads into the game on the back of a convincing 4-0 win over Venezia, while Liverpool suffered a surprising 1-0 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest over the weekend.

Despite the weekend setback, Slot is confident and focused. “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.

“They have quality, and 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 also shared his thoughts on the new Uefa Champions League format, noting that it’s too early to gauge how many points will be needed to advance.

“It’s difficult to say how many points are needed, as it’s the first time we’ve played under this format. We went through with Feyenoord with six points one time. It’s clear that if you want to be in the top eight, you need to win a lot for the points,” he explained.

“The format will be better assessed later on. For now, it’s positive for football lovers to see exciting fixtures, like ours tomorrow.”

Slot also outlined his strategy to stop Milan’s star attacker Rafael Leao, “We have studied his quality and he is certainly a standout player. To stop him at his best, we need to defend as a team to counter his quality. Milan has many quality players, and Leao is one of their top players in my opinion.”