Less than a week after a stunning 2-0 victory in the first leg at the Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain faced Liverpool in the quarterfinal second leg, this time at Anfield. Despite the two-goal advantage, Les Rouge et Bleu knew they were only at the hallway mark of the tie, and the electric atmosphere and intensity on and off the pitch in the opening exchanges only served as another reminder.
Luis Enrique’s visitors were the first to look dangerous, with Vitinha (4’) and Dembélé (10’) forcing Giorgi Mamardashvili into action. The Reds’ response was immediate, but Matvey Safonov was dominant in the air (16’). Fifteen minutes later, the Parisian goalkeeper was again called into action, this time with a fantastic save from Milos Kerkez before captain Marquinhos produced a breathtaking block to deny Virgil van Dijk (31’). Despite the pressure from Anfield and Arne Slot’s players, the capital club resisted and the two sides headed to the break tied at 0-0.
In the second half, Liverpool had no choice but to throw everything into attack. Cody Gakpo was introduced off the bench and the Dutch international quickly forced Matvey Safonov into another save (49’). As the minutes ticked by, the pressure on the Paris goal intensified, but neither Ryan Gravenberch (55’) nor Kerkez (57’) could hit the target. And when the Reds did get a shot on goal, Safonov was there to save Rio Ngumoha (71’). Paris dug in their heels and weathered the storm.
Luis Enrique remained organised and disciplined, extinguishing everything Liverpool could throw at them, before capitalising on the counterattack. Bradley Barcola and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, combined in transition to set up Ousmane Dembélé on the edge of the penalty box. The Ballon d’Or winner curled home a brilliant left-footed shot into the back of the net (0-1, 72')!
Resigned to their fate, the home side continued to press high up the field without ever truly threatening the Paris defence. At the other end of the pitch, Kvaratskhelia and Barcola once again combined for Dembélé to finish off another clinical attack, sealing Paris’ victory on English soil (0-2, 90+1)!
Outstanding in both penalty areas, Paris Saint-Germain defeated Liverpool at Anfield to reach the Champions League semifinals for the third consecutive season and for sixth time in club history.
Paris est magique!
