Revealed: Jamie Carragher's fiery remarks on Liverpool's use of a back five system despite losing to Paris Saint-Germain in the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg. 1
On 9 Apr 2026 GMT+7, renowned football analyst Jamie Carragher commented on Liverpool, led by Dutch manager Arne Slot, using a five-man defense but still losing 0-2 to Paris Saint-Germain in the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg last night.
In that match, the defending champions scored two goals through Desire Doué and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, while the visitors, Liverpool, failed to register a single shot on target and managed only 26% possession.
Recently, Jamie Carragher stated, "Arne Slot's use of a five-man backline contains flaws. Instead of tightening the defense, it opened gaps for opponents more than the traditional four-man defense. The team uses man-to-man marking, which forces defenders to cover wide areas. Some have criticized Virgil van Dijk, but remember he sometimes has to move up into midfield and then run back when unmarked. At his current age, constantly running up and down like that is no longer feasible."
"I think he feels very uncomfortable. Ibrahim Konaté also made frequent mistakes. If I were him, I'd probably beg Arne Slot to stop using this system. But credit to Paris Saint-Germain—they played excellently. Watching them today reminded me of seeing Pep Guardiola's Barcelona."