soccer

'It should have been five or six' - Carragher

Yahoo Sports

[Getty Images] Jamie Carragher says the gulf between Liverpool and Paris St. Germain in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final was "absolutely startling". The Reds, who failed to register a shot on target at Parc des Princes, have a two-goal deficit to overturn in next week's second leg.

"In some ways it's actually a great result for Liverpool because it should have been five or six in that game. The gulf between the two teams was absolutely startling," the former Liverpool defender told CBS Sports. "When you consider last season, yes Liverpool got battered at PSG and they won 1-0, we know that but the second leg at Anfield was a really close game - two top teams.

"Liverpool then go and spend £450m, probably a lot more than PSG spent in the summer and to see the gulf there is worrying, you think how has it got to that, how has it got that bad? " Reds boss Arne Slot switched to a back five and Carragher says it is the most "uncomfortable" he has seen Virgil van Dijk in a Liverpool shirt. "At 34 years of age he was having to run in there, run across, he couldn't do it," Carragher added.

"People have criticised Van Dijk this season about his performances and I think it has been harsh because he plays every game, the fella next to him has just been awful all season, he was poor again [against PSG] Ibrahima Konate, he makes a mistake every game so that's not easy to play alongside. "I still think Van Dijk has been one of Liverpool's better players but in that back three I have never seen him so uncomfortable in a Liverpool shirt in my life and I think he'll be pleading with Arne Slot to never play that system ever again because he found it so tough. "It's not just the system of Liverpool and getting it wrong tactically, PSG were absolutely out of this world and the biggest compliment I can give them, it was like watching Pep Guardiola's Barcelona.

" Did you know? Liverpool have lost four consecutive away games in all competitions for the first time since between February and April 2012.