Arne Slot has warned Liverpool will suffer another emphatic defeat should they switch off against Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday evening but believes his toiling team can save their season by going “toe-to-toe” with the European champions.

The pressure on Liverpool and their head coach has intensified following Saturday’s 4-0 capitulation against Manchester City in the quarter-final of the FA Cup. Florian Wirtz disagreed with captain Virgil van Dijk’s damning assessment that Liverpool “gave up” at the Etihad Stadium, but both the £116m playmaker and Slot admitted there can be no repeat of that performance at Parc des Princes.

Slot, who will have Alexander Isak on the bench after four months out injured, claimed Luis Enrique’s team have improved since winning PSG’s first Champions League title last season and will punish any lapses from Liverpool. He challenged his players to “stand up again” and respond to the City embarrassment immediately.

“It’s not the first time we have 15-20 minutes in a game where we don’t play our best football and it is not the first time we immediately get punished by a goal, some times one or two,” Slot said of Saturday’s collapse....