Liverpool coach Arne Slot admitted his team were well beaten by Paris Saint-Germain in Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg as he defended his decision to play with three central defenders and insisted the Reds still had hope going into the return. "Paris Saint-Germain was by far the better team today and could have scored more than two goals, but the good thing was the Liverpool players showed fighting spirit and kept going," Slot said after his side went down 2-0 in the French capital. Desire Doue gave PSG an early lead with a deflected strike and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia got their second goal after the hour mark, in a match which saw the hosts have 70 percent possession and 18 attempts on goal to the visitors' three. 

"Of course you think you can do better, but we were in survival mode for large parts of the game, and maybe also we are in survival mode at this period of the season," said Slot, whose team have won just one of their last six matches. "It is really hard against this team. PSG was the better team, but we didn't give up and that is why we still have a chance in this tie, and now we can bring the tie back to Anfield, and in between there is still a very important game to play against Fulham." Slot selected Joe Gomez as a third centre-back alongside Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk, while Mohamed Salah was left on the bench and did not feature at all -- unlike Alexander Isak, who appeared as a late substitute for his first appearance since December after injury.