Round-upArne Slot press conference: Liverpool v Real Madrid, Alexander-Arnold return, Wirtz and more

The Reds' head coach spoke to reporters at Anfield on the eve of the league-phase showdown between the European heavyweights.

See a summary from Slot's session with the media on Monday below…

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On whether the subsequent visit to Manchester City comes into his thinking for Tuesday's line-up...

No, the Sunday game is not in my thinking when it comes to the line-up for tomorrow, because I think there are four days in between. We've had a lot of moments this season where there were only two days in between, like tomorrow but that is maybe for the first time this season [where] for the opponent we face it's the same. So, [there were] many other times when we had two days' rest we faced a team that had a week of rest or three days' rest or four days' rest. So for tomorrow that's exactly the same for both teams. The line-up for tomorrow will have nothing to do with what happens on Sunday. The good thing is that we won on Saturday – but that was about time, I would say, for us to start winning a game of football again!

On Trent Alexander-Arnold's return to Anfield...

I can only tell you what kind of a reception he will get from me. I have great memories of the player and the human being. He was our vice-captain, he was my vice-captain last season. I have memories working with him that were only positive and I have memories from when I was watching him in front of the television which are only positive as well. I can remember multiple great moments of him wearing the Liverpool shirt. So, he will get a warm welcome by me. Let's first wait and see if he's on the pitch tomorrow and how our fans will react. I have no clue how that's going to be. But he gets a warm welcome from me, that's for sure.

On his message to Liverpool supporters…

I can say to them, 'Show up tomorrow and help us again like you did [on] Saturday.' They were a big help for the team. Again, tomorrow we face a team that is on a great run of form, like [Aston] Villa was as well. It's always very pleasant to play at home because in the run of form we had we almost only played away games. I think Anfield showed [on] Saturday how important they can be for the team, so let's hope the players and the team and the fans can do the same tomorrow evening.

On what changes he has noticed in Real this season based on the team Liverpool faced a year ago...

For me, it is hard to compare this game with last season. I just said it already because last season when they played here they had many injuries and now they haven't – and they kept a lot of the team the same. I see a lot of similarities between last season [and this]. Xabi [Alonso] is doing an incredible job at Madrid but Carlo Ancelotti did the same; he won a lot. They've added a few new players, so that can always influence playing style maybe a little, but I saw last season a very good Real Madrid – and I see that now as well. They have always been a big force in this competition; I don't know how many semi-finals or more they've played in the last few years. A very good team, but we are a very good team as well.

On how Alonso has changed the way Real's forward players operate, and his legacy at Liverpool...

The first question you shouldn't ask me, you should ask him because I don't know what he did. Like I said, they were for multiple years with Carlo Ancelotti very successful. How many Champions Leagues did Carlo win over there at Madrid? Three? That's not too bad! We can only talk with a lot of respect about his career over there. Now Xabi does very well – they only lost one game and won the rest.

The second question was what kind of impact he had over here: he won the Champions League over here. I can only tell you because his playing time was quite a long time ago, but I did watch football back then, that he was very influential in the way he played. But people are also very positive about the human being he was over here. So, I think everybody talks with a lot of respect about the player he was but also about the human being he was here in Liverpool.

On Florian Wirtz...

You can say he started one out of the last four. You can also say he started already eight, nine, 10, 11 games this season. I've said this quite a lot, it's not being used as an excuse but just to tell how it is, that many times we've had to play three games in seven days [with] only two days' rest in between. For a player that comes from a different league – which is a very good league, by the way – I think nine out of 10 people would agree on the fact that the Premier League is a bit more intense, especially in all the games. Then if you look at that, then he already played a lot.

He has had his impact in many games but has been unlucky with the end product, either by himself or by his teammates. For me, he brought exactly what we expected – a player that can create a lot for the team, will have his goals as well. But I don't think it comes as a surprise to anyone that if you are 22, 23, you come from a different league, that you might need some time to adjust to that intensity if you play every three days with only two days' rest in between. I think before I was sitting here, Ryan Gravenberch was sitting here and it took him a while to adjust to the intensity, maybe even longer than it is going to take Florian.