‘Another strong performance required’ – read Arne Slot’s Lille program notes

“The two wins against the big Madrid clubs tell us all we need to know about what Lille are capable of. It is clear that they are very strong opponents who deserve more than our respect and that is on this basis that I would like to welcome Bruno Genesio, his staff, players and supporters of Lille to Anfield.

“There is no doubt that they are looking for a special night, so we must do everything we can to prevent this from happening. Our best chance of doing this obviously rests on retaining – and where possible , improve – our recent performance levels, which have been very good, although we have not always secured the results we have deserved.

“Of course, that did not apply to Saturday. Against Brentford we were clearly the better side and dominated almost the entire game and although we had to wait until the end to secure the points, no one present could argue that we weren’t deserved winners.

“At the same time, it’s also true that we were close to dropping points, and because we always challenge ourselves to improve, we have to recognize that it wasn’t a position we needed to find ourselves in. From that possession we had, situations we generated and chances we created, the result should have been clear long before Darwin Nunez’s late goal.

“This is an area where we will look to improve. Winning games is never easy, especially in the Premier League or Champions League where the standard is so, so high, but taking chances when they come can do it a bit easier to win.