There was pride in defeat for Liverpool as their hopes of Champions League glory were extinguished.
The applause after the final whistle on Tuesday night and the defiant chants of an appreciative Kop spoke to a gutsy performance against Paris Saint-Germain. Having been lucky to only lose 2-0 in France in a one-sided quarter-final first leg six days earlier, Arne Slot’s side were desperately unfortunate to be beaten by the same scoreline at Anfield.
Their tally of 21 shots (compared to PSG’s 12) was their most attempts without scoring in a Champions League game since the 1-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the 2022 final. The hosts also had 50 touches in the opposition’s box compared to 24 and created an xG (expected goals) of 1.94 versus 1.25.
“I think we made a lot of progression compared to last week,” Slot told reporters post-match. “I have to give a lot of credit to the players for how hard they worked. I also have to give a lot of credit to our fans for how they helped us to execute our game plan with the high press as they kept pushing us.
“We’re very disappointed because I think there were times in the second half where you could feel: ‘If we can score now this is going to become a special night’. Not many teams can be dominant against PSG and generate so many chances as we did.”
Here was Liverpool’s troubled, trophyless season in microcosm. The lack of a clinical edge cost them dear before Ousmane Dembele punished some slack defensive work from Alexis Mac Allister with a ruthless finish 18 minutes from time. The Ballon d’Or winner slotted home his second of the night on the counter attack late on.
It’s been a campaign full of painful blows for Liverpool and there was another for their collection when 17-goal top scorer Hugo Ekitike departed on a stretcher with a suspected Achilles injury before the break. Slot said he fears the French striker’s season is over.
That will place a big responsibility on the shoulders of record signing Alexander Isak to finally start repaying that £125million fee as the focus turns to trying to secure Champions League qualification in the six remaining Premier League matches. With the Merseyside derby away to Everton next up on Sunday, this is no time for anyone to be feeling sorry for themselves.
Hugo Ekitike is facing a lengthy spell out after being injured against PSG (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Slot bemoaned the decision by Italian referee Maurizio Mariani to overturn the penalty he had initially awarded for a foul by Willian Pacho on Mac Allister just after the hour mark and he had a point. It was soft but it was certainly clumsy by Pacho.
“I’ve conceded a few of these penalties this season and I could name them all for you – starting with Brentford away and Leeds away,” he added. “If a penalty has been given and VAR says, ‘I see contact’ then they should stick with the on-field decision. I wasn’t surprised this went against us, but it’s not the story of the game.”
However, Slot should also reflect on how he got his team selection wrong. There had been nothing in Isak’s two brief substitute appearances since recovering from a broken fibula after nearly four months out to suggest he was sharp enough to start a game of this magnitude and so it proved.
The Swedish striker had just five touches in the space of 45 minutes before being replaced by Cody Gakpo. Isak sent a header straight at goalkeeper Matvei Safonov early on before failing to convert a chance created by Ryan Gravenberch when his blushes were spared by the offside flag after mistiming his run. The Isak gamble didn’t pay off.
Initially overlooked by Slot, Mohamed Salah came on for the injured Ekitike but was erratic on what proved to be the last European appearance of his gilded Liverpool career. He created four chances but lost possession 22 times — more than anyone on either side.
Holding back young Rio Ngumoha until the final quarter of the contest made little sense given that the hosts were crying out for an injection of pace and dynamism. The teenage winger simply has to start against Everton.
The bizarre sight of Joe Gomez being subbed on and then subbed off 20 minutes later was explained by him informing the bench he felt some muscle tightness.
Slot, for his part, was trying to be upbeat in the aftermath. “The future looks very bright for this team,” he insisted. “We’ve shown that we can compete with the champions of Europe.”
Liverpool did compete last night, but the fact is they were hopelessly outclassed in Paris last week and the 4-0 aggregate scoreline points to the chasm that’s opened between the sides since last season’s last-16 meeting when PSG advanced on penalties.
Many supporters understandably don’t share Slot’s optimism about the future given that this was their 17th defeat of the season in all competitions. The regression from a year ago when Liverpool were on the brink of winning the Premier League title has been stark.
Pitting yourself against Europe’s best tends to highlight weaknesses and question marks remain against so many of last summer’s signings.
Florian Wirtz failed to step up in either of the legs against PSG. It’s not his fault that he cost a fee rising to £116million but with that kind of price tag comes big expectations that he’s not even close to meeting. He was massively outshone by Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue.
Florian Wirtz has struggled to live up to his price tag (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)
Jeremie Frimpong struggled in the first half on Tuesday night to such an extent that he was hooked off at the break and goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, whose kicking especially is a big concern, continues to look a big downgrade on Alisson.
With Giovanni Leoni injured and Isak floundering either side of his fitness issues, only Milos Kerkez and Ekitike have really justified the faith Liverpool showed when they embarked on last year’s record-breaking spending spree.
Throw in how Salah, Mac Allister and Gakpo have lost their way, and it’s not hard to see why Liverpool find themselves in their current predicament.
Owner Fenway Sports Group must decide to what extent Slot has been the victim of circumstance or whether he’s simply made a tricky situation considerably worse by his tactical decisions and man-management. Champions League qualification or the lack of it is bound to resonate in Boston.
With Salah and Andy Robertson leaving as free agents, another huge summer at Anfield awaits. Federico Chiesa is also expected to depart. Doubts remain over Gomez and Curtis Jones given they only have one year remaining on their deals. There’s still no clarity over Ibrahima Konate as talks continue over extending a contract that ends in June. Is it time to cash in on Mac Allister given his downturn?
This is a squad once again in need of major surgery. There are glaring gaps that have to be plugged. Given it’s hard to see them generating much from sales, Liverpool need the riches of competing among Europe’s elite to help pay for the next stage of the rebuild.
There was pride in defeat to PSG but Slot’s Liverpool were also found wanting. Qualifying for the Champions League was always the minimum requirement and now it’s suddenly all that can be salvaged from a season of missteps.