Liverpool 0 PSG 2 (Agg: 0-4): Dembele eases holders into semi-finals as Slot’s Isak gamble fails to pay off

Liverpool’s hopes of a famous Champions League comeback against Paris Saint-Germain came to nothing on Tuesday night, with the French champions winning 2-0 at a rain-soaked Anfield.

Expectations that a typically feverish European atmosphere would unsettle the visitors early on were dashed when PSG looked dangerous from the off. The movement of their front three — Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue — caused as many problems for Virgil van Dijk and his defensive colleagues as they had in Paris last week.

There was a worrying moment half an hour into the game, when Hugo Ekitike went down holding his heel, and had to be substituted. But replacement Mohamed Salah almost made an immediate contribution, crossing in to Ibrahima Konate, whose header forced a fine save from Matvey Safonov, before an even better block from Marquinhos stopped Van Dijk from putting Liverpool into the lead.

Arne Slot brought on Joe Gomez and Cody Gakpo — the latter for the ineffective Alexander Isak — at half-time and they helped Liverpool build some genuine momentum. It felt like a game that needed a transformative moment, and it seemed Liverpool had one when referee Maurizio Mariani gave a penalty for a foul on Alexis Mac Allister, only to retract it after reviewing his decision on the pitchside monitor.

Slot introduced Rio Ngumoha for the final quarter of the game, and the 17-year-old brought an excellent save from Safonov within minutes. But the European champions are one of the most dangerous teams on the planet, especially when you are chasing goals — and it was a neat counter and a wonderful finish from reigning Ballon d’Or winner Dembele on 73 minutes that effectively ended the tie as a contest, something that was underlined when he scored again in stoppage time to make it 2-0 on the night.

Stuart James, Liam Tharme and James Pearce dissect the game’s key moments.

Liverpool fail to translate optimism into goals

The hope lasted for 73 minutes. It was genuine, too, as Liverpool, roared on by the kind of atmosphere that Anfield has become synonymous with on these European nights, pushed for the elusive first goal that would have changed the complexion of the tie and put PSG under pressure.

Liverpool had their moments, the best of them arguably in the first half when Milos Kerkez was denied and Van Dijk seemed destined to turn in the rebound only for Marquinhos to make a goal-saving challenge. Talk about putting your body on the line.

Liverpool huffed and puffed, playing with more conviction for a period in the second half without carving out a clear opening. The closest they came to taking the lead came when Mac Allister went down under a challenge from Willian Pacho, causing Mariani to point to the spot. Moments later, the Italian referee changed his decision after being asked to review the incident pitchside.

Maurizio Mariani signals there will be no penalty after viewing his decision (Carl Recine/Getty Images)

It was that kind of night for Liverpool, who never really clicked as an attacking force. The decision to start Isak was a huge surprise and, in truth, it didn’t work. At the other end, Ousmane Dembele provided the ruthlessness and composure in front of goal that Liverpool lacked.

Stuart James

Yet more brilliance from PSG and Dembele

Soaked from the pouring Liverpool rain, Dembele raised both hands and fist-pumped in front of a jubilant away end. He had just curled the tie-sealing goal past Giorgi Mamardashvili, showing sublime footwork before the shot by chopping back onto his left foot and away from Mac Allister.

This is Dembele — he doesn’t really have a weak foot. His positional switch from winger to No 9 last season truly unlocked him and provided the platform for PSG to dominate, score and finally win the European crown. Dembele scored at Anfield last season too, a tap-in early on for a 1-0 PSG win that levelled the round-of-16 tie they eventually won on penalties.

Ousmane Dembele curls PSG’s goal past Liverpool’s defence (Michael Steele/Getty Images)

The goal and context here were incredibly different. There is expectation on Luis Enrique’s side and Dembele too — he won last year’s Ballon d’Or but persistent calf and hamstring injuries have disrupted his season. This strike was Dembele’s 15th across 31 appearances and 19 starts, though just his third in Europe.

PSG showed in the first leg, with goals from Kvaratskhelia and a deflected Desire Doue strike, that they have quality and goal threats everywhere. Dembele’s role in the first leg was to occupy any of Liverpool’s three centre-backs and drag them higher to make space in behind (illustrated in his player dashboard below.

At Anfield, he showed his technical brilliance again, adding the gloss in second-half stoppage time with a tap-in from Bradley Barcola’s low cross to give PSG a 4-0 aggregate win.

Liam Tharme

A tough first half for Isak and Ekitike

It was immediately clear that Ekitike’s night was over. The fear is that the French striker’s season has also ended, with his World Cup dream in tatters.

There was no one near Liverpool’s top scorer when he went down in agony, clutching his right leg shortly before the half-hour mark. The way players from both sides rushed to comfort him underlined the severity of the situation.

Ekitike departed on a stretcher against his former club, with Salah replacing him as all four sides of Anfield applauded. It’s another blow for Liverpool in a season packed full of injury setbacks.

Slot had sprung a surprise by starting Ekitike and Alexander Isak for the first time since the Champions League trip to San Siro to face Inter in early December. Isak had done little in his two substitute outings since recovering from a broken leg to justify his inclusion but Slot has been desperate to unleash them as a double act in a 4-2-2-2 formation.

It’s been a source of frustration for the Dutchman that the club’s three biggest signings last summer, Ekitike, Isak and Florian Wirtz, who were bought at a total cost of more than £300million ($407m), had only played 88 minutes together all season before Tuesday night.

Alexander Isak reacts as Hugo Ekitike goes down injured (Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Isak had an early opportunity to repay the faith but planted a header straight at goalkeeper Safonov. The Swedish forward was then released by Ryan Gravenberch’s ball in behind but couldn’t find the finish, with his blushes spared by the offside flag.

It was a gamble from Slot that didn’t pay off. Gakpo replaced Isak at half-time.

James Pearce

How did Desire Doue get injured?

It takes a lot to stop Doue. So often, the 20-year-old has the magic touch for PSG, with dazzling footwork to beat opponents and dead-eye finishing. His night was cut short early into the second half, though, after he went sprawling into a pitchside microphone following a one-v-one along the touchline against Dominik Szoboszlai.

The Liverpool midfielder gave him a gentle nudge and the referee waved play on. Doue eventually got up, tried to carry on, and then went down after limping. A reverse camera angle showed that the legs of the mic stand went into his midriff as he almost clattered into a ballboy. Barcola replaced him on 52 minutes.

Liam Tharme

What did Arne Slot say?

Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, the Liverpool head coach highlighted his side’s improved performance. “We got much more than we deserved last week, by only losing 2-0, but today we got much less than we deserved.

“We should have won but it’s also the quality of PSG that they don’t concede with all the chances we had, and the finishes of Ousmane Dembele, who showed why he won the Ballon d’Or. If you look at the xG (expected goals figure), we should have scored two, let alone one (Opta puts their xG at 1.9, as seen in the match stats graphic at the top), and that’s happened too many times this season.”

Slot added that Ekitike’s injury “doesn’t look good”, but said his team is ready to “go for” their final objective — a top-five finish in the Premier League to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

What next for Liverpool?

Sunday, April 19: Everton (away), Premier League, 2pm UK, 9am ET