Paris Saint-Germain v Liverpool: Champions League quarter-final, first leg – live | Champions League
Key events
59 min Mac Allister’s long-range shot hits Pacho in the area. Liverpool enquire about a possible penalty, nothing more than that.
Replays show it hit an elbow that was tucked into Pacho’s body. I say ‘an elbow’, I mean it was Pacho’s right elbow.
58 min Mac Allister exchanges passes with Szoboszlai and is fouled on the edge of the D by Pacho. The referee doesn’t agree.
56 min Here’s an insight for you: next goal’s a big goal!
53 min: What a chance for Dembele!
PSG cut Liverpool open with two economical, perfectly weighted passes. Kvaratskhelia finds the overlapping Nuno Mendes, who slides a precise cutback towards the unmarked Dembele 12 yards out. He wallops it over the bar with his left foot. That’s a great chance.
52 min Hakimi robs Kerkez just outside the area, gets to the byline and tries a pass/cross that is crucially cut out by Gomez. The resulting corner is half-cleared to Hakimi 20 yards out; his shot is about to disturb air traffic control.
51 min A fairly quiet start to the second half. PSG have had some blistering moments but their overall performance hasn’t been at the level they reached last spring. At least not yet.
49 min Ekitike curls well wide from 22 yards after nice play by Wirtz and Szoboszlai. That’s Liverpool’s first attempt at goal in the match.
48 min “Funny that Szoboszlai has a foot with a sweet spot the size of Orkney,” writes Niall Mullen, “because at the weekend he had a blind spot the size and shape of Nico O’Reilly.”
46 min PSG begin the second half in style. Vitinha tries to kick for touch and screws it behind for a Liverpool goalkick.
Half-time reading
Half time: Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 Liverpool
PSG deserve their lead, even if Desire Doue’s goal took a big deflection. After a very nervous start Liverpool grew into the game, albeit without creating any significant chances. Big 45 minutes coming up!
45+1 min “Rob, a world away from Paris is the Scottish Highland League clash at Brora tonight, with the home side three points behind leaders Brechin, but with a superior goal difference, and the final round of fixtures to come on Saturday,” writes A both away to mid table sides with nothing to play for. A win for Brora tonight will likely give them the title, anything else would make Brechin strong favourites. Gotta love football, eh, whether in Paris or Brora.”
45 min: Chance for PSG Dembele is surrounded by Liverpool players on the right side of the area. But he stays calm, assesses his options – there are a few – and guides a fine pass to the unmarked Joao Neves on the edge of the area. He drags a low shot well wide.
44 min There’s been a red card and a goal in the other quarter-final between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. Luke McLaughlin can give you chapter and indeed verse.
42 min Dembele shoots tamely at Mamardashvili from 15 yards after a sensational PSG counter-attack. There isn’t enough time to describe it, as there were five or six players involved, but the precision and penetration were quite beautiful.
39 min Frimpong is flagged offside after running onto Wirtz’s scoop and belting a shot just wide of the far post. We’ve not seen a replay so I don’t know whether the offside call was correct.
38 min A poor clearance from Kerkez goes straight to Kvaratskhelia, who swaggers into the area and tries his luck from a tight angle. It’s too tight, in fact, and the shot ripples the side netting.
37 min: Big save by Mamardashvili
One long pass down the left and suddenly PSG are two v one against poor Joe Gomez. Nuno Mendes slides an early square ball into Doue, whose left-foot shot from 10 yards is blocked by the outrushing Mamardashvili. Terrific stop.
36 min “Last season was fun, wasn’t it?” writes Matt Dony. “And come to think of it, 2019-20 wasn’t too shabby. Have to admit I quite enjoyed 2018-19. And, admittedly, many, many other seasons. Let’s just draw a line under this one, though, eh? Roll on 2026-27.”
32 min A snapshot from Kvaratskhelia, near the right edge of the penalty area, is pawed away well by his international colleague Mamardashvili. Good save because Kvaratskhelia too the shot early and Mamardashvili had to dive a long way to his right.
31 min Mac Allister is booked for a late, inept lunge at Doue. No complaints that time.
29 min PSG’s reserve left-back Lucas Hernandez is warming up. Nuno Mendes was down a couple of minutes ago and apparently needed his inhaler.
28 min Gomez is booked for a firm sliding tackle on Doue. He took a lot of the ball but the referee didn’t like it. Replays suggest it was probably a fair tackle.
26 min Passes completed: PSG 163-44 Liverpool.
25 min “Ah, I remember when the Liveblog Dungeon was the Farringdon Bunker,” says Niall Mulle. “I hope your shackles are comfortable, Rob.”
A little snug.
24 min Liverpool have responded well to going a goal down, and Doue’s goal remains the only shot on target at either end. Having the ball is a mixed blessing, though, because PSG look devastating in transition.
21 min That cross from Szoboszlai was a gem, and pinged so nonchalantly on the run. His right foot has a sweet spot the size of Orkney.
20 min A long throw from Gomez is punched behind for a corner by Safonov. The corner is well worked, taken short and then whipped beautifully towards the far post by Szoboszlai. Kerkez arrives late but is beaten to the ball by the fist of Safonov. That’s good goalkeeping because Liverpool had men over.
18 min A slightly better spell for Liverpool. It’s easy to be critical when you’re watching on from the Guardian Liveblog Dungeon, but my word PSG are some team. Whatever team Arne Slot picked, Liverpool were going to be under pressure from the first whistle.
15 min Arne Slot’s decision to switch to a back five made plenty of sense tactically. The problem is the effect it seems to have had on Liverpool’s mindset: they are lacking conviction and intensity, particularly in possession, and resemble a boxer covering up on the ropes. Perhaps conceding that goal will make them start swinging.
13 min Kvararatskhelia, who will miss the second leg if he gets a yellow card tonight, is lucky to escape a booking for a brazen tactical foul on Konate.
The nightmare scenario for Liverpool: Desire Doue has given PSG an early lead. He moseyed over to the left side of the area, turned back onto his right foot and tried his luck with a curler that took a wicked deflection off Gravenberch and looped over the leaping Mamaradashvili.
GOAL! Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 Liverpool (Doue 11)
There may be trouble ahead.
10 min Doue cracks a left-foot shot from the edge of the area that is well blocked by Szoboszlai.
10 min Liverpool have made a decent start defensively, but when they get the ball they look a bit lost. That must be a mindset thing because there are still some very good creative players on the field.
8 min “What a time for Liverpool to try an entirely new system,” says Niall Mullen. “As a wise man once said: it’s a bold move, let’s see how it works out for them.”
That was Danny Dyer in Human Traffic, right?
6 min Nothing much to report early doors, just lots of PSG possession. And I mean lots: 86 per cent.
3 min In fact, Liverpool are playing with Szobszlai as a false nine, with Ekitike and Wirtz as inside forwards. Interesting.
PSG have settled into the usual pass-and-move groove.
2 min Liverpool are playing with a back five, as predicted by TNT Sports. Wirtz is playing close to Ekitike but on the right-hand side.
1 min Peeeeeeeeeeep peeeeeeeeeeeeeep! Liverpool kick off from left to right as we watch.
Summary
There’s a minute’s applause before the game in memory of the mighty Mircea Lucescu, who died yesterday at the age of 80.
The head-to-head
1996-97
Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final
PSG 3-0 Liverpool; Liverpool 2-0 PSG
PSG win 3-2 on aggregate
2018-19
Champions League group stage
Liverpool 3-2 PSG; PSG 2-1 Liverpool
2024-25
Champions League last 16
PSG 0-1 Liverpool; Liverpool 0-1 PSG
PSG win 4-1 on penalties
On-the-nose pre-match music
Arne Slot’s pre-match thoughts
I never doubt my players. I know they give their best; sometimes it’s not enough as we saw for 20 minutes at the Etihad. But they will try again today – on this stage, on every stage – to represent the Liverpool shirt in the best possible way.
[What’s the thinking behind playing a back five?] The thinking is that we are playing a team who change positions constantly, so I thought, ‘Let’s pick a line-up where peole will argue what our formation is.’ We will see once the game starts. It’s obvious that we can play in different ways with the players we have on the pitch.
[On the omission of Mo Salah] It’s always difficult to leave players out who work very hard and deserve to start. Mo is definitely one of them but there are other players on the bench who have worked very hard to play. We have a number of players on the bench who can impact the game. We’re in a better place [in terms of depth] than we have been for most of the season.
“Glad to see Arne is channelling his inner George Graham, who was known on occasion to squash six central defenders into a line-up if the mood took him,” writes Peadar de Burca. “And yet, if was King Ferg who famously used seven defenders in his starting XI against the Gunners in the FA cup back in 2011 and won 2-0. Not that I need to tell you that…”
I was thinking more about Highbury 1990, the alliterative fiasco of the four full-backs.
I actually don’t think this is a particularly defensive team, certainly not if they play a 4-2-3-1. I reserve the right to edit this entry should Liverpool’s formation be closer to 9-0-1.
The players on a yellow card
Paris Saint-Germain Nuno Mendes, Kvaratskhelia
Liverpool Van Dijk, Gravenberch, Jones.
“I am beset by dread,” writes Joe Pearson, “and not in the ‘I am the law’ kind of way. Although admittedly PSG are giving off ‘You’re next, punk!’ vibes. IYKYK.”
Barry Glendenning
While Arsenal were busy Arsenaling their way to a worthy but dull Bigger Cup quarter-final first leg win at Sporting on Tuesday, the players of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich released the collective handbrake and performed many high-speed donuts, wheel spins and Rockfords as a pleasing counterpoint to the careful mirror-signal-manoeuvring on display at Lisbon’s Estádio José Alvalade.
Like a couple of stolen supercars racing each other around a shopping mall in The Fast and the Furious: Bicester Village, these two European heavyweights massively committed to the bit, not unlike a daily football email bogged down in a laboured motoring metaphor.
“When I see the chances we had, that has to give us confidence that we can score more goals,” whooped Vincent Kompany following a hi-octane Bernabéu white-knuckle ride from which his team emerged deserving winners, even if it was their 40-year-old goalkeeper who took home the gong for player of the match.
TNT Sports reckon Liverpool will start with five at the back. Interesting.
Liverpool (poss 5-3-1-1) Mamardashvili; Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Gomez, Kerkez; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Wirtz; Ekitike.
Paris Saint-Germain team news
The formidable quartet of Nuno Mendes, Marquinhos, Joao Neves and Vitinha return to the PSG side in place of Lucas Hernandez, Illia Zabarnyi, Lucas Beraldo and Lee Kang-in. Nine of the ten outfield players started the demolition of Internazionale in last year’s final; Warren Zaire-Emery is covering for the injured* Fabian Ruiz.
Paris Saint-Germain (4-3-3) Safonov; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes; Zaire-Emery, Vitinha, Joao Neves; Doue, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia.
Subs: Chevalier, Marin, Beraldo, Zabarnyi, Goncalo Ramos, Lee Kang-in, L Hernandez, Mayulu, D Fernandez, Mbaye.
* There are reports that PSG regard Fabian Ruiz’s pain threshold as sub-optimal.
Liverpool team news: Salah on the bench
Mo Salah has been left out of the Liverpool starting XI, one of two changes from the defeat at the Etihad on Saturday. Curtis Jones is also omitted, with Jeremie Frimpong and Alexis Mac Allister coming in. Alexander Isak is back in the matchday squad.
Liverpool (possible 4-1-4-1) Mamardashvili; Gomez, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch; Frimpong, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Wirtz; Ekitike.
Subs: Isak, Salah, Woodman, Chiesa, Jones, Misciur, Gakpo, Robertson, Nyoni, Ngumoha.
Barcelona v Atletico Madrid is tonight’s other Champions League match. Luke McLaughlin is covering that one.
“One from the rumour mill here,” writes Daniel Stauss, “but my best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who’s going with a girl who said Slot would get the sack if Liverpool lose today. Any thoughts?”
Harry Paterson’s preview
This tie could not have come at a worse time for Liverpool. They were on the wrong end of a 4-0 thrashing against Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday, their 15th defeat of the season and their fourth in their past five away games. They beat PSG 1-0 at the Parc des Princes last spring, but a lot has changed in 12 months.
On a more encouraging note, Mohamed Salah, Jeremie Frimpong and Federico Chiesa are available, and the £125m signing Alexander Isak might make his first appearance in the squad since breaking his leg against Tottenham in December.
PSG have a habit of beating English sides in the Champions League. They knocked Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal out of the competition last season, and they swept Chelsea aside last month, winning 8-2 on aggregate. Bradley Barcola picked up an injury in that tie but may return, and Vitinha, João Neves and Nuno Mendes are likely to start having come off the bench in the 3-1 win against Toulouse at the weekend. Prediction: PSG to win the first leg and the tie.
Andy Hunter
Arne Slot has warned Liverpool will suffer another emphatic defeat should they switch off against Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday evening but believes his toiling team can save their season by going “toe-to-toe” with the European champions.
The pressure on Liverpool and their head coach has intensified following Saturday’s 4-0 capitulation against Manchester City in the quarter-final of the FA Cup. Florian Wirtz disagreed with the captain Virgil van Dijk’s damning assessment that Liverpool “gave up” at the Etihad Stadium, but both the £116m playmaker and Slot admitted there can be no repeat of that performance at Parc des Princes.
Preamble
Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. When Liverpool were drawn against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League 11 months ago, they were strong favourites to beat a side who finished 14 places below them in the league phase. Right there, right then, Liverpool looked the best team in Europe – but PSG beat them on penalties after a fascinating struggle and never looked back.
A year on, few people give Liverpool a prayer against the reigning champions, who again seem to be peaking at the perfect time. Liverpool are not so much peaking as lurching; their results this season make a Jackson Pollock look neat and tidy by comparison. After a promising start at the Etihad on Saturday, they collapsed to a 4-0 defeat. If their heads drop as quickly tonight, things could get ugly.
Then again, we thought things were going to get phenomenally ugly at half-time in Istanbul. The Champions League music tends to stiffen the sinews of Liverpool players, particularly when they are underdogs. Arne Slot would love his own little miracle in the city of light.
Kick off 8pm.
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