Slot ‘not sure’ if topping table is an advantage for Liverpool

Arne Slot

Liverpool boss Arne Slot is not convinced that finishing top of the Champions League's inaugural league phase standings will prove to be an advantage after securing progress to the last 16 on Tuesday. The Reds beat Lille 2-1 at Anfield to maintain a perfect record of seven wins from seven games.

Liverpool are guaranteed to finish in the top two, with Barcelona the only side that could pip them to first place. That means the Premier League leaders will face a side that finishes between 15th and 18th in the last 16. However, Slot does not believe that the UCL table tells a true story.

"So normally in tennis, if you're No. 1, you know if you play against the No.24, he's probably not as good as the No. 16. But here, because we play different teams, maybe the No.24 is better than the No.16, but the No.16 had an easier draw.

"We also want to be on top of the league, but I'm not so sure. We have to wait and see if it's an advantage," Slot added. Liverpool were far from their best against 10-man Lille and needed a deflected strike from Harvey Elliott to win, after Mohamed Salah's first-half goal was neutralized by Jonathan David.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever