Jamie Carragher makes Liverpool Champions League prediction after Galatasaray defeat

Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool will beat Galatasaray to reach the Champions League quarter-final but feels Arne Slot’s side will be eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain.

Liverpool were beaten in the first leg of their last-16 tie in Turkey on Tuesday night as Mario Lemina’s goal sealed a 1-0 win for Galatasaray.

Slot’s side must now overturn that result at Anfield in the return leg next Tuesday in order to progress to the quarter-final, where they will play either Chelsea or PSG.

Carragher believes the defeat to Galatasaray is a ‘big worry’ for Slot but feels Liverpool’s problems will continue if the Dutchman is sacked at the end of the season.

‘This was an end-to-end game that was a bad game in the end for Liverpool,’ Carragher told CBS Sports.

‘Bad result, really poor in the second half as well. First half started well, a lot of that was to do with the mistakes of Galatasaray. I don’t think Galatasaray had a great team. It’s still a team Liverpool should beat and should go through.

‘So, I’m still 98 per cent. It was 99 a couple of weeks ago. So, I still think Liverpool will go through.

‘But, this is a worry for the for the manager and the team. What we saw tonight is what we saw in early on the group stages away to Galatasaray early on the season.

‘This team is just a million miles off where it was supposed to be this season which was that we’d be talking about them in the same light the way we speak about Bayern Munich right now. That was the whole point of Liverpool spending over £400 million in the summer was to go the next step from winning the Premier League to go and win the Champions League.

‘And we’re talking about a team who have now got to change a deficit against Galatasaray, which I think they will, but I don’t have any hope for Liverpool going any further than that if it’s Paris Saint-Germain in the next round as I think it may be, and that’s that for me is a big worry.

‘And it’s not just a defeat, I think the performances from Liverpool this season are a big worry for the manager. I think I said on this show in the group stage he’s got to do something, he’s got to change something. He’s tried everything really, in lots of different ways, but nothing seems to be able to work and it’s just at no stage this season have I ever felt Liverpool were in control of a football match.

‘It’s either end-to-end basketball, so he wanted to stop that and change that, and then it becomes slow and boring and predictable.

‘Do I think another manager could come in straight away, or any manager, say you give him that squad, I don’t think it dramatically changes.

‘I really do think the makeup of the squad, how it’s been put together, the lack of options in certain areas, is a is a big problem as well. So it’s not just all about the manager but as we know, managers carry the can.’

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