It’s time for Arne Slot to show he belongs at Europe’s top table, writes LEWIS STEELE… ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League trip to AC Milan

This time last year, Liverpool began their European campaign in the sleepy location of Linz, the picturesque Austrian city straddling the Danube River and most famous for being the birthplace of Adolf Hitler.

Former boss Jurgen Klopp’s final year saw him go on to collect passport stamps in Toulouse, Brussels, Prague and Bergamo, where they lost to Atalanta. Beautiful spots to spend a Thursday – but hardly any of European football’s famed destinations.

Tonight, that will change as the Reds return to the biggest stage in one of world sport’s grandest arenas: the San Siro.

Playing AC Milan these days might not be the heavyweight match-up it was when these sides clashed in the 2005 and 2007 finals — but it is still a meeting of two of the leading protagonists of this competition’s history, with 13 European Cups between them.

Liverpool are back where they belong — and now it is time for Arne Slot to prove he too belongs at this level. The Dutchman’s honeymoon period was ended by Nottingham Forest on Saturday, just the Reds’ second home league defeat since October 2022.

The Reds are back where they below but it’s time for Arne Slot to prove himself at this level

His European record is relatively sound. Slot, who turns 46 today, led Feyenoord to the Conference League final – losing to Jose Mourinho’s Roma – and won more European games than anyone in the Rotterdam club’s history. In the Champions League, he is so far unproven.

This competition, though, is often what Liverpool bosses live and die by. After a few years in the wilderness, Klopp brought the glorious European nights back to Anfield, while Rafael Benitez’s continental exploits disguised a record of only once finishing above third in the Premier League.

A shoddy performance and result against Forest will be swiftly parked if Slot can come up trumps in the San Siro. And he said: ‘It is a big game, not only for me but for us. Because of the history these two teams have and the venue it is played in.

‘We have a lot of respect for the players and history of Milan. They have quality players – we are not scared but we respect all of their players. They are in good form, they had a very good 4-0 win on Saturday. Scared is not the word.

‘Not only the journalists were disappointed with the result against Forest – the team and me as well. When we beat United, the journalists and us were really positive. Last Saturday, we did not do as many good things as we did against United.

A shoddy performance and result against Forest will be swiftly parked if Slot can come up trumps in the San Siro

‘Tomorrow I expect a completely different game against Milan. We should be disappointed if we lose against Forest when you work for Liverpool. If you are not disappointed when you drop points in a home game against Nottingham Forest, then something is wrong.’

Captain Virgil van Dijk is also excited to be back at Europe’s top table. ‘I missed it,’ he said. ‘I cannot wait to be out there hearing the Champions League tune and leading out the boys. A club like Liverpool needs to be in the Champions League.

‘We are finally back. Let’s go out there and put a much better performance in than we did on Saturday as it is needed. Otherwise, you are going to have an issue. I’m really looking forward to it and hopefully all our fans travelling over there will be in high spirits and loud voices.’

He added that Saturday’s loss was ‘unacceptable’ and the team will be working hard to put it right in Milan. ‘(We need to) keep going, keep working and make sure the performances don’t go in that direction.

Slot says the game Milan in Slot is big too due to the history between the two sides

‘We all know how the atmosphere can change but that is also part of the influence from outside which could affect you. We have a very good group that really understands that Saturday was unacceptable and are disappointed. We all know everyone can do better.’

Van Dijk is not the only one excited to be back in the Champions League and Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson says he will appreciate it more after a year in Europe’s second-tier competition.

The No 1 said: ‘Imagine something that you really like to do, and you stay without doing it for one year, how looking forward to it you would be to do it again. That’s the way we feel. Playing the Champions League was one of the reasons that I came here to Europe from Brazil.

‘Not being able to play last season was really hard. But here we are again after a really good season qualifying in a really difficult league. We are looking forward to it.’

There are no fresh injury concerns for Liverpool despite a fiercely-contested battle with Forest on Saturday. Federico Chiesa has travelled to his homeland of Italy and is set to make the bench for the first time after his £10million move from Juventus.

Alisson says he will appreciate the Champions League more after a year in the Europa League

When these two teams were rubbing shoulders in European Cup finals in 2005 and 2007, Slot was playing for mid-table Dutch side NAC Breda. Would he have ever thought back then he would be managing Liverpool in the San Siro on his 46th birthday?

He has defied the odds and consistently punched above his weight as a head coach to reach this level but, as Liverpool finally return to where they belong at Europe’s top table, it is time for Slot to prove he belongs here too.