Liverpool head coach Marco Silva attended a press conference

Liverpool will host Bayer Leverkusen in the fourth round of the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the match, Liverpool head coach Marco Silva attended a press conference.



View of the Match Against Bayer Leverkusen as a "Truly Important European Clash" 
"As you can see, this is an important European clash. Whenever you participate in the Champions League, there is always a sense of that, even under the new format. While there might be one or two or three teams that are not as well-known as others, they definitely have their reasons for being here… primarily due to what Xabi Alonso has done for this club, particularly in European competitions, and perhaps more because of how he has managed Bayer Leverkusen, who were incredibly strong last season both domestically and in Europe. In my view, they are just as excellent this season, though they may have had some bad luck in terms of results. For many football lovers, this is a match to look forward to."

Mohamed Salah Expresses on Social Media: "I'll Never Forget the Feeling of Scoring at Anfield"  
"Your interpretation might differ from others. I don’t follow players on social media; I just communicate with them, which is something you can’t do, so that gives me an advantage… Salah is in fantastic form. Since he joined Liverpool, he has been in great shape, and this season is no different. I hope he posts something again after tomorrow's match (against Leverkusen) and on Saturday (against Aston Villa). What he writes is not important to me. What matters to me is his performance and what he tells me when we communicate; that's the key, not how you interpret a particular post of his."

Is This an Indication He Will Leave Liverpool in the Future? 
"If that’s a hint, then I should talk to him about what he’s saying—whether it is or it isn’t. But I haven’t talked to him about that; we discussed Leverkusen because this team is strong enough to deserve our full focus. So, no. His contract expires at the end of the season, and Virgil (van Dijk) said some things in the press conference, and now he (Salah) has posted something, and you’re interpreting it in some way. As long as their future is uncertain, this situation may continue. But in the meantime, I hope they can deliver strong performances like Salah and Virgil did last weekend."

Importance of Liverpool's Performance Without the Ball Against Bayer Leverkusen 
"Very important, because there are two moments in a football match: you either have the ball or you don’t. If you are playing against a strong team—Bayer Leverkusen is one of them, just like Liverpool—you have to excel in both aspects. Unfortunately, in the first half against Brighton, we did poorly in both areas. We didn’t perform well when we had the ball—not badly, but not well enough—and defensively, without the ball, we were also quite poor against Brighton, who are also a very good team at building attacks from the back. This shows we need to perform like we did in the second half because, in my opinion, leading up to the match against Leverkusen, their level of possession is at least comparable to Brighton’s. So, we need to perform much better than in the first half and maintain the same quality as in the second half."

Crowd Helps Liverpool Raise Intensity Against Brighton  
"I believe the fans want what I want, and what our players want—we want to take control of the game and be very aggressive without the ball. If we lack aggression, sometimes our defensive line can push too high. We still want to try, but if you are just a bit slow or late or expose a gap, they can break through your defense. The good thing is I always see my players desperately trying to get back to prevent the opponent from getting chances. Although I feel—we all feel—that Brighton performed better in the first half, they didn’t create three or four clear chances in open play. If you look back, we had the best opportunity in the first half through Darwin Núñez, which also shows me that even when they broke our first press, we still managed to limit their chances. Ideally, we should not only prevent them from breaking your press but also create opportunities through effective pressing, which is something you are very familiar with at Liverpool! That’s why we want to press high, but against good teams like Chelsea, Brighton, and Bayer Leverkusen, our pressing intensity cannot drop by even 1% compared to our intensity in the second half."

How Long Can Salah Maintain His Top-Level Performance?  
"Currently, there’s no reason to believe his level is declining. That’s not the case based on his data or his performance in games. I can’t tell you what the future holds. Look at Cristiano Ronaldo—how old is he now? He’s still performing excellently. Messi is also incredible—difficult to believe. But there are also players like me who weren’t as good at 33—I’m not saying I was great at 26, but I declined earlier than Ronaldo and Messi! I don’t know what the future holds, but I know Salah is in great shape right now."

What Makes Xabi Alonso Special as a Coach?  
"If you’re not working with him daily, it’s hard to say. He is special; that’s obvious. If you go to a club at the bottom of the league with the same players, and that summer you don’t spend much money, just bringing in one or two very good players—and he has a season where they lost in the Europa League final—then that shows he’s special. What makes him special? That’s difficult for me to say because I haven’t faced him or worked with him. It’s possible that he has worked with very good coaches in the past, and he has an incredible understanding of the game from his time as a player. He knows where to be and when to appear, and since he played at the highest level, he probably knows and understands how those players feel at certain moments. That could all be why he is such a great coach. To find out exactly what makes him so special, the best way would be to talk to the players who have worked with him—something I have not done."

On the New UEFA Champions League Format  
"This is obviously different. Normally, you would first play an away or home game, and then you could prepare better for the return match. Now, you face a new opponent every time. Each group has some very strong teams, and the strength might differ from one group to another, so you might get a bit lucky or unlucky during the draw—and then it also depends on which matches are home and which are away. First, I want to say that there might be more luck involved in ranking higher or lower, but on the other hand, if you are playing eight matches instead of six, generally speaking, the luck tends to average out when you play more matches. So far, I’ve been saying to ask me again after eight matches or at the end of this season; that would be a better time to evaluate this format. As a football lover, the only thing I like is that every night I can switch to a very exciting match, but that’s not what I’m here to think about now! On Wednesday night, I will definitely find a match I am looking forward to—hopefully, everyone else is looking forward to the Liverpool vs. Bayer Leverkusen match tomorrow, and we won’t let you down."