KAIKAI

Liverpool are still alive in this season's Champions League. Nobody quite knows how, of course. Arne Slot's side were played off the pitch by Paris Saint-Germain last week but managed to escape from the Parc des Princes with a 2-0 defeat that Jamie Carragher acknowledged actually felt like a "great result" for the visitors, given the chasm in cohesion and confidence between the two teams.

Admittedly, the feeling persists that Liverpool were granted little more than a stay of execution in Paris. PSG are unlikely to be anywhere near as profligate in Tuesday's return leg and it's not as if playing at Anfield holds any fear for Luis Enrique's men anyway, in light of last season's shootout success on Merseyside.

However, all is by no means lost for Liverpool. The fragility of the defence remains a serious cause for concern but the Reds undoubtedly have the attacking talent to trouble the reigning champions of Europe. Slot just has to be brave enough to make full and proper use of the weapons at his disposal if Liverpool are to pull off another famous fightback in front of the Kop...

Slot's shameful submission

Slot has since vehemently defended the tactics he employed last Wednesday night but the truth of the matter is that Liverpool were punished - and embarrassed - for displaying next to no ambition in Paris, with his decision to field a five-man defence for the first time since taking over as head coach 18 months ago yielding predictably calamitous consequences.

Even Virgil van Dijk looked lost as the visitors struggled horribly to contain PSG's ridiculously fluid forward line, which constantly pulled Liverpool players out of position.

From an attacking perspective, Florian Wirtz showed flashes of what he could do in possession, but the problem was that the Reds could barely get a hold of the ball, let alone hold onto it, as Dominik Szoboszlai and others failed to figure out exactly where they were meant to be playing.

Indeed, Liverpool completed just 190 passes (PSG made 685), had just nine touches in their opponents' box and didn't create a single 'big chance' all evening - the inevitable consequence of a shameful show of submission from Slot, who, despite Monday's claims to the contrary, quite clearly instructed his players to sit deep and waste as much time as possible over set-pieces in a desperate bid to avoid a heavy defeat in the French capital.

However, such cynicism and cowardice aren't going to cut it at Anfield. The supporters wouldn't stand for it anyway. But Slot knows himself that he's put himself in a position where he has no choice but to go for it - and that means, at the very least, starting two players who spent the entire first leg sitting on the bench.

Salah simply has to start

One could certainly try to make a case for benching Mohamed Salah in the first leg. The Egyptian has been nowhere near his best this season and appeared utterly devoid of confidence in the FA Cup quarter-final hammering at Manchester City the weekend before.

If the past few months have taught us anything, though, it's that taking Salah out of the team doesn't solve any problems; in reality, it only adds to them, as it robs the Reds of one of their most dangerous attacking threats.

For all Salah's struggles this season, he's still been directly involved in 20 goals in all competitions and was utterly integral to the rousing 4-0 win over Galatasaray in the second leg of their last-16 tie.

The fact of the matter is that there's no better option on the right wing, and while that may say more about Liverpool's recruitment than Salah's enduring excellence, the 33-year-old also offered a timely reminder of his finishing ability with a delightful first-time strike against Fulham that immediately put a smile back on his face ahead of what is, right now anyway, the most important game he has left as a Liverpool player.

Whatever the issues between them, Slot simply has to give Salah the opportunity to write one more glorious chapter in a story that's already become the stuff of legend.

It may well be the case that the excellent Nuno Mendes has Salah's number but picking the third-most prolific player in Liverpool's history would at least make the Portuguese think twice about bombing forward at every opportunity - which would at least alleviate some of the pressure on whomever Slot deploys at right-back.

Frimpong's pace imperative

Choosing between Joe Gomez or Jeremie Frimpong is actually one of the biggest decisions Slot faces ahead of the visit of PSG. Both may have started the first leg but one will have to make way, with Liverpool also certain to revert to a flat back four for a must-win match.

Slot's selection will give us an immediate insight into how he intends to approach the game and Gomez would obviously be the safer option because while the versatile centre-back doesn't offer much offensively (other than long throws), he's a very competent defender when fully fit.

If Gomez is going to play, though, it should be in his preferred position alongside Van Dijk, in place of the wildly erratic Ibrahima Konate, who was lucky to avoid giving away not one but two penalties in Paris.

Frimpong may be prone to getting caught out of position and he has a tendency to frustrate with his final ball, but's probably the quickest player in what is a relatively slow Liverpool squad, meaning he's got sufficient speed to deal with Desire Doue while at the same time offering a fantastic outlet on the overlap for the slowing Salah.

The pair haven't actually played that much in tandem this season, mainly due to the Dutchman's injury issues, but they worked well together against Fulham - and no other player on the pitch created more chances than Frimpong (three).

Bottom line: Frimpong's pace makes his inclusion absolutely imperative against a side stacked with jet-heeled wide men.

Experience over exuberance?

With Milos Kerkez having been left of the bench for the duration of the Fulham game, the natural assumption was that the Hungarian was being rested for the second-leg showdown with PSG - and that makes sense, as there have been doubts over his ability to play three times in the space of a week.

There will, however, be a temptation to stick with Andy Robertson at left-back. The outgoing Scot looked more like his old self against Fulham, hurtling forward at every opportunity as well as defending with typically dogged determination.

Furthermore, while Robertson may be an infamously feisty character, the likelihood is that he'd approach such a massive match with a much cooler head than Kerkez, who sometimes seems almost too keen to impress himself upon the proceedings.

Perhaps more importantly than anything else, though, Rio Ngumoha may also benefit more from having an experienced player like Robertson supporting him rather than the exuberant but erratic Kerkez - and getting the best out of the teenager really should be foremost in Slot's thinking right now.

Liverpool need Ngumoha

Slot's desire to protect Ngumoha this season has been perfectly understandable. Everybody is acutely aware of the increased risk of burnout in modern football and nobody wants to see such a special talent overburdened at such a young age.

However, it's been clear since his thrilling cameo off the bench at Nottingham Forest in February that Liverpool need Ngumoha. With time catching up on Salah, and Luis Diaz long since departed for Bayern Munich, the 17-year-old is definitely the most dangerous dribbler in Slot's squad, a fearless young forward whose first thought is to go directly at his man.

"He has such a special quality which you don’t see a lot in football anymore: dominating the one-v-one situation," the coach said on Saturday. "And that’s exactly what he did when he scored his goal, making the ball free by twisting and turning and then hitting it in like a Mo Salah finish, I would say."

His superb solo strike also prompted comparisons with a young Raheem Sterling - not least because he usurped the former England international as Liverpool's youngest ever Premier League scorer at Anfield - and has seemingly banished whatever doubts his manager had over playing him against PSG.

"I think he’s ready," Slot said. "Now the question, of course, is: can he do this two days later again? That’s another question. But would he be able to play and perform at that level? Yeah, because in the beginning of the season he was a young player getting some experience with the first team. But now he’s just someone I can pick for any game. So, also the one on Tuesday."

There are other alternatives, obviously. With Hugo Ekitike certain to return up front, Cody Gakpo, who did a decent job leading the line against Fulham, could move back out onto the left wing. Unfortunately, the Netherlands international has not done anywhere near enough this season to justify a spot in Slot's starting line-up for such a monumental match.

In fact, there's a stronger case to be made for Ekitike moving out to the left, where he's more than comfortable, to accommodate the inclusion of the fit-again Alexander Isak through the middle.

Potential tie-changer

However, Slot is much more likely to hold Isak in reserve for the second half - which is the smart play, in fairness, given the Swede's limited game time - and deploy Wirtz on the left-hand side of the forward line.

There is certainly merit to such an approach. Liverpool don't want to leave themselves exposed in midfield - arguably PSG's strongest area - so we may well see Szoboszlai in the No.10 role, just ahead of Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch in the midfield pivot.

Nonetheless, while the Reds can't afford to be reckless, they do have to be bold - and that means putting Wirtz in his best position, while at the same time letting Ngumoha loose on the left wing.

With his wonderful vision and tremendous technique, Wirtz links the play like nobody else in Slot's side and while it was by no means an ingenious assist, the pass from which Ngumoha eventually broke the deadlock against Fulham after a succession of stepovers was tellingly provided by Liverpool's most creative player.

Those two potential superstars need to be given as much time to do as much damage as possible against PSG, because if the Reds are going to hurt the European champions, they're going to have to hit them with everything they've got.

This is no time for half-measures - or hanging about. Liverpool have to go full-throttle from the first whistle and that means sacrificing some of the control Slot loves in order to embrace a little of the old anarchy championed by his predecessor, Jurgen Klopp.

The best way to create that climate of chaos would be to add Ngumoha into the mix. He's Liverpool's wild card, the unknown quantity from PSG's perspective, a potential tie-changer who's already lifted some of the negativity around Anfield with his performance at the weekend.