Liverpool are the ‘best team in Europe’ and ‘are playing like Rottweilers that haven’t been fed for a while’, according to expert Rio Ferdinand.
The Reds defeated mighty Real Madrid last night behind goals from Alexis Mac Allister and substitute Cody Gakpo to make it five wins from five in Europe to move them top of the Champions League and Premier League.
Caoimhin Kelleher made a heroic stop to deny Kylian Mbappe from the penalty spot at 1-0, while Mohamed Salah failed to follow up on his blockbuster comments this week as the Egyptian also missed a penalty.
But this was a breathtaking performance from Slot’s men and Ferdinand said on TNT Sports: ‘They have laid down the gauntlet to all the other teams in Europe. They seem to be the best team in Europe at the moment.
“They play as a team and look like the hungriest individuals. Not only are they getting results, they look starved. They look like they haven’t been fed for ages, Rottweilers run down past the hunting teams. They have the calm.”
Slot had his family present and greeted a special evening. “It’s always good to win a match, especially a big match like this,” said the Dutchman, who will be back at the AXA Training Center this morning to prepare for a crucial title clash against the fighters.
After a strong start, Liverpool remains the leader in the Champions League and the Premier League
Rio Ferdinand labeled them ‘the best team in Europe’ after their victory over Real Madrid on Wednesday
Arne Slot (right) has gotten the best out of Egyptian star Mohamed Salah (left) in recent weeks.
Manchester City Sunday. ‘It will mean more in the later stages of the tournament. It is difficult to judge how big these victories are. If we can beat them in the knockout stages it will be a bigger statement.”
Finally, the Liverpool academy also thanked penalty hero Kelleher and player-of-the-match Conor Bradley, who marked Mbappe out of the match and registered an assist. ‘Did he help? I didn’t know… he was in a strange position then,” Slot laughed.
“It’s nice for him, his family and the academy that a player coming through is doing so well, like Caoimhin and Curtis (Jones). It’s a big compliment that three academy players are doing so well, and Conor did very well. “I’m not surprised because he showed it last season.”
Jude Bellingham was another player to flop on the big stage for Carlo Ancelotti’s men and he said: ‘They were just more up for it than us, which is really disappointing to say. It’s a bad result against the best performing team in Europe.
“There’s no shame in coming here and losing, but we’re disappointed with the way we performed.”
Ancelotti, whose European champions are 24th in the new competition phase, added: ‘To be very honest it is a fair result, Liverpool deserved to win, they have a very good dynamic. They are in top form, playing with high intensity.’
About Mbappé, the seven-time European Cup winner said: ‘This has happened before in my career, attackers without confidence. There is a cure… I think Mbappé is in a difficult moment. We have to support him and give him our love, he will be fine soon.”