Turkish media share details of private meetings Galatasaray chiefs had with players before Liverpool

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Galatasaray players have been putting a lot of focus on their upcoming meeting with Liverpool in the Champions League.The Turkish outfit beat Arne Slot’s side 1-0 earlier this season in a group phase game, and the pair are now set to go head-to-head in the first of two last-16 ties this coming Tuesday.Before European action returns, though, Galatasaray had to face old rivals Besiktas on Saturday afternoon and club chiefs were not happy with how little attention that match was being given, forcing meetings between staff and players. Who was YOUR Man of the Match in Liverpool’s win over Wolves? 😁 Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images Galatasaray told players to stop focusing on Liverpool before Besiktas Despite losing their previous meeting earlier this season, Liverpool are heavily backed to win in the Champions League and make it into the quarter-finals, where they will face Chelsea or PSG.This may go some way to explaining why a report from Turkish outlet Haberler that ‘the technical staff and management’ had to intervene this week because, despite taking on a big rival on Saturday, players were ‘focusing on the Liverpool match’ instead.The report shares what Galatasaray are said to have told their players in the behind-closed-door meetings: “You are all talking about the Liverpool match, but first we have a derby in the league.

We have a very important match against Besiktas on the road to the championship. We will think about that match after we get past the derby.“Besiktas has achieved good results against us even in their tough times at home.

We must think about the league first and get through the derby without any losses. If we achieve this morale, we will be much better prepared for the Liverpool match.” Liverpool are going to have to change this to make it to the UCL quarter-finals… Give us your early predictions for the last-16 clash with Galatasaray Photo Credit: Getty Images/Gerrit van Keulen/Soccrates Arne Slot has given Liverpool an edge over GalatasarayWhile Galatasaray were not in action until Saturday and were facing one of the top-four teams in their country, Liverpool played on Friday evening.This, of course, means the Reds have nearly 24 hours of extra rest before the Champions League game next week.But more importantly, Slot has ensured a number of his first-team players are fresh for the game.Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Ibrahima Konate and Jeremie Frimpong were all benched, while Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk did not have to complete the full 90 minutes in the FA Cup.Given that Galatasaray are in such a close title race, and their meeting with Besiktas was a big game, they had no such luxury over the weekend.Join Our NewsletterReceive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox