Liverpool manager Arne Slot says it is too early to be “jumping to conclusions” about why Premier League clubs struggled in the Champions League this week.
None of the six English clubs managed to win the first legs of their last-16 ties, with the Reds being beaten 1-0 at Galatasaray.
Arsenal drew 1-1 at Bayer Leverkusen, Newcastle United held Barcelona at home by the same score, Chelsea and Tottenham both lost 5-2 at Paris St-Germain and Atletico Madrid respectively, and Manchester City were on the end of a 3-0 defeat at Real Madrid.
“To jump to a conclusion after one gameday, I think that’s such a small sample size, that’s never the smartest thing to do,” said Slot. “Maybe, after next week, we will have a completely different conclusion.
“In general, it’s not helpful for English clubs not to have a winter break. I’m not saying all these teams lost because we don’t have a winter break.
“Why [the lack of victories]? Because you are facing, in the last 16 of Europe, some very good teams. And, four of the five [other] teams in the Champions League played away from home.
“That’s usually an advantage to play at home or a disadvantage to play away. To jump to conclusions – [whether it is] missing a winter break, [or that] the level of the Premier League is not as high as we expected it to be – that would be, for me at this moment of time, not the right conclusion to make.”
