On Tuesday evening at Anfield, Paris Saint-Germain succeeded in overturning the narrow deficit from the first leg of their clash with Liverpool in the Champions League round of 16, and eventually booked a place in the next round through penalties.
It was Ousmane Dembele who scored for the Ligue 1 champions to nullify Liverpool’s advantage in the 12th minute. With neither side able to grab another goal for the remainder of the match and the 30 minutes of extra time, the teams took to penalties to settle the tie. PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved spot-kicks from Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones, rendering Mohamed Salah’s scored one pointless as Vitinha, Goncalo Ramos, Dembele, and eventually Desire Doue scored for the visitors.
Teams
With the situations in their respective squads practically the same from the encounter in the France capital, both coaches named unchanged lineups.
For Liverpool, Alisson Becker was in goal, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson flanking Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate in defence. Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister started in the middle of the park, with Dominik Szoboszlai roaming further up. Mohamed Salah attacked from the right, Luis Diaz from the left, and Diogo Jota as the centre-forward.
As for the Parisians, Donnarumma stood between the posts, with the centre-back duo of Marquinhos and Willian Pacho between fullbacks Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes. Vitinha anchored the three-man midfield, while Joao Neves and Fabian Ruiz played box-to-box. Upfront, a very flexible attacking line consisted of Bradley Barcola, Dembele, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Game course
This whole tie was a bit of a paradox, as Liverpool barely survived without getting destroyed at the Parc des Princes and won as Harvey Elliott came on from the bench to score with his team’s first and only shot on target, and then they outplayed PSG for much of the second leg, and lost both the game and the penalty shootout. It was, however, a proper clash between two top-quality sides, and it will likely have been a slight disappointment for proper football lovers that they met at such an early stage.
A raucous Anfield urged Liverpool to set the tempo early, and they responded in kind. Salah came close twice—first seeing his effort miraculously blocked on the line by Nuno Mendes before curling a shot just wide after a driving run into the box.
However, after enduring misfortune in the first leg, PSG benefited from a major stroke of luck just 12 minutes in. As Barcola’s cross zipped into the area, Konate’s attempted interception inadvertently teed up Dembele for a simple tap-in into an open net.
The early goal did nothing to dampen either team’s attacking intent. Konaté forced the shaky Donnarumma into action with a strike from distance, while Diogo Jota sent a header over from a corner.
At the other end, Alisson continued to frustrate PSG, denying Barcola from rounding him before swiftly smothering a loose touch from Dembele to prevent a one-on-one attempt.
A relentless first half concluded with Ryan Gravenberch making a crucial block on a goal-bound strike from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Much like in Paris, Liverpool managed to stifle PSG’s attackers more effectively in the second half, but this time they also carried a greater threat. A sharp Donnarumma save from a Díaz header and Kvaratskhelia’s goal-line block from Salah kept the hosts at bay, while an offside flag ruled out Dominik Szoboszlai’s finish.
Liverpool then twice went close through substitute Jarell Quansah, who had replaced the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold. The young defender first headed over from a corner before glancing a free-kick onto the post.
With neither side able to find a winner, extra time ensued, where PSG started stronger—Lucas Beraldo and Désiré Doué both flashing efforts narrowly wide.
However, their late pressure failed to produce a goal, sending the tie to penalties.
And in the decisive shootout, Donnarumma proved the hero, pulling off superb saves to deny Nunez and Jones while PSG clinically converted all four of their spot-kicks. It should, however, be said that both Nunez and Jones looked nervous as they approached the task and their efforts simply weren’t good enough to beat the Italy international between the posts.
Look ahead, Liverpool
The stench of disappointment will understandably linger over Anfield for a while after this game, but objectively speaking, the Merseysiders have little cause for sorrow this term. It would’ve been a remarkable feat indeed had they been able to win the Champions League, as well as win the Premier League which is within their grasp and play in the Carabao Cup final, in the first season under a new manager after the iconic Jurgen Klopp left the club.
Arne Slot has done a fantastic job upon taking charge of the team, and come the end of May, providing there are no vastly unpleasant surprises between now and then, no Liverpool fan will be unhappy when captain Van Dijk lifts the Premier League trophy, the club’s record-equaling 20th league title in England.
But of course, there’s a cup final to be played first and the chance to win the first trophy of the campaign on Sunday. The defeat suffered at the hands of PSG will have done more damage in that aspect, as both Alexander-Arnold and Konate left the pitch injured. With Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley both out already, losing another right-back and another centre-back was the last thing Liverpool needed.
Speaking to the press after the game, Slot revealed strong doubts over Alexander-Arnold’s availability for Sunday, but also hope regarding Konate.
“I have to ask but for me Ibou [Konate] was more that he was tired than it was an injury. With Trent, he had to come off. That’s never a good sign,” the Dutch tactician said.
“And from what I heard from people that saw the images or how he got injured, that didn’t look very good. So I would be surprised if he is available for Sunday.”
PSG – Time for glory?
Paris Saint-Germain have long been known as a club that spends vast amounts of money to sign expensive players. That strategy has established them as the dominant force in French football, but they’ve always fallen short in Europe and winning the Champions League has remained an elusive dream.
However, the Ligue 1 giants have definitely changed their approach over the last year and for the time being, it seems to have yielded positive results. Gone are the days of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi. Luis Enrique has taken a different approach and built a team consisting of younger, very talented players, hungry to prove themselves at the biggest stage, rather than hyped-up stars who play for personal glory and enormous wages.
There is both quality and depth in their ranks, and this might just prove the season when they break from the shackles of failure from previous years and reach the top, when they earn the club’s first-ever European crown.
There is obviously a long way to go yet and difficult obstacles to overcome. Unless Club Brugge pull off some kind of a miracle at Villa Park on Wednesday, it won’t be easy against Aston Villa in the quarterfinals. Barcelona have already made the top eight, and 15-time winners Real Madrid will have a thing or two to say as well. Bayern Munich have set one foot in the quarterfinals as well.
So the question the football public will learn the answer to in the comings months is, do PSG have what it takes to finally go all the way?
After the Anfield heroics, it certainly seems they do.
“Both of the teams deserve to go to the next phase,” Enrique said after the match.
“They played better than us here, but I think my team at Anfield, in a special stadium, showed great personality and character. We tried to play our best, but it was difficult as they’re so intense. Both teams deserve to qualify.
“The character and personality, even when we shoot at the penalty shootout they showed great character. I think it shows clearly the team we are.”
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