Liverpool F.C. head coach Arne Slot has said his side was frustrated after conceding to hosts Galatasaray S.K., resulting in a slim 1–0 win for the Turkish club in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 on Tuesday night, news.ng reports.
Liverpool travelled to Turkey with high hopes, only to bow to pressure from Victor Osimhen’s Galatasaray by a lone goal courtesy of Mario Lemina in the seventh minute of the game.
However, Slot, who has faced criticism over time due to a lack of improvement from his players, insisted they are still very much in the competition as both teams prepare for the return leg at Anfield next Wednesday, March 18, 2026.
Assessing the match, the Dutch manager, who took over from Jurgen Klopp in 2024, dismissed the notion that the hosts were a major threat to them in the final third of the match, while acknowledging their professionalism.
“I don’t think they had a lot of chances in the second half, did they? No. They have good players, and they’re a good team, so they will always create chances. They scored five against Juventus F.C. here at home, so that tells you what they’re capable of,” Slot noted during the post-match conference.
Despite losing to Galatasaray away, Slot made it known that his players had better opportunities to find the back of the net but were unfortunate not to convert those chances into goals.
Highlighting one of those chances was when forward Hugo Ekitike had a close-range scoring opportunity but was denied by Galatasaray’s goalkeeper Uğurcan Çakır.
“We’ve had very good chances, one-on-one to the goalkeeper, and unfortunately couldn’t score. But again, as I have to give credit to how they scored their goal, I have to give credit to the way they defend as well because they keep on fighting, throwing themselves in front of the balls,” the Liverpool boss explained.
“And in that moment when Hugo [Ekitike] went one-v-one, it was the goalkeeper [there] to make a very important save,” he added.
Shrugging off Tuesday’s defeat, the Dutch coach said it will be a different ball game when they meet at Anfield, calling on Liverpool fans to recreate the kind of atmosphere they experienced.
Banking on his players for a more favourable outcome next week, Slot expressed confidence that his side will outperform Galatasaray in the next tie.
“But what I do know is now it’s half-time. We’ve lost here twice with 1-0, and the good thing is the next game is not played here. It is played at Anfield, and our fans can create a similar atmosphere,” he said.
“I don’t think it’s possible that if I look at the last two games that so many things can go against us as happened in the last two games, although sometimes I question that if I look at this season. But I think things will be more normal in a home game for us.”
He stressed the importance of the support of their fans in such a big game as the Champions League.
“And I also think we can improve our performance and that, with the help of our fans, has to lead to a big game in a week.”
