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A reason for Liverpool optimism., They’ve scored 24 goals in their last seven home games: 6-0, 4-1, 1-2, 3-0, 5-2, 1-1, 4-0.
A reason for Liverpool pessimism. None of those games were against Paris Saint-Germain.
Remember the chance Ousmane Dembele had to make it Barcelona 4-0 Liverpool in 2019? You never know, PSG may regret some of the chances they missed in the last 15 minutes. They had to settle for two goals, a deflected shot from Desire Doue and a downright erotic dance from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
ShareFull time: Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Liverpool
Liverpool have been battered by one of the best club sides in European football history. But they are still in the tie, just about, and they have recovered from worse situations at Anfield.
Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk (centre) reacts after the final whistle. Photograph: Thibault Camus/APHis manager Arne Slot also looks dejected after the match. Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images/ReutersShare
Updated at 17.04 EDT
90+2 min “I’m at peace with this,” says Paul Griffin, punching the wall when nobody is looking. “It’s part of the order of things. A strange and beautiful decline. Like mid-70s Stones. Let’s just leave the field to the oligarchs, magnates and power brokers and pretend it’s football.”
90+1 min Nuno Mendes goes on a barnstorming run, away from Konate and into the area. Konate puts a hand on Mendes’s back and Mendes goes flying. The referee isn’t interested. It’s being checked by VAR and this could well be given.
Nope, no penalty! Crikey, Konate has dodged one there. And he’d have been sent off as well because he wasn’t trying to play the ball.
Updated at 17.04 EDT
90 min Three minutes of added time. Liverpool have brought on Trey Nyoni for Jeremie Frimpong.
Share89 min: What a chance for Nuno Mendes!
Hakimi runs onto Kvaratskhelia’s terrific scooped pass and and is through on goal from the halfway line He decides to square the ball to Nuno Mendes – the other bloody full-back – at the far post. Mendes tries to do a Kvaratskhelia and walk the ball into the net, but after going past Konate he runs the ball into his standing foot and the danger passes for Liverpool. That really should have been 3-0.
88 min: PSG substitution Dembele is replaced by Lucas Hernandez.
Share87 min: Dembele hits the post!
Dembele leads another dizzying PSG counter-attack, running 50 yards before cutting inside from the left to find Vitinha. He waits for Dembele to charge around to the right before slipping a simple return ball. Dembele charges onto the ball and smokes it off the outside of the post. Mamardashvili probably had it covered, though it was hit with such force that it might have gone through his hand and broken all five digits.
86 min The camera cuts to an impassive Mo Salah, sitting down with his bib still on. That suggests we won’t be seeing him tonight.
85 min Here he goes again, my boy CG Kvaratskhelia, dancing infield from the left. He tries to twist Frimpong’s blood in the penalty area but gets it wrong for once and Van Dijk sweeps up.
Updated at 17.01 EDT
84 min PSG are toying with Liverpool, whose quadruple substitution has yet to have any meaningful impact.
83 min The resulting corner is headed wide by Kvaratskhelia, lurking in front of the near post.
82 min: Good save by Mamardashvili! Hakimi runs onto a return pass from Dembele and hits an early left-foot shot from 17 yards. Mamardashvili gets down smartly to his left to push it away.
81 min Liverpool still haven’t had a shot on target in this game. The stats look pretty ugly – 30 per cent possession, no shots on target – but there have been periods in the game when they’ve done okay. And if they can somehow acracadabra a late goal, anything is possible at Anfield next week.
80 min “Having seen Kvaratshkelia live at the Maradona stadium when playing for Napoli, it came as no surprise to see him score a stunning individual goal,” writes Colum Fordham. “A clear candidate for the Ballon d’Or.”
With his portfolio of goals, he should have his own special award: the Ballon phw’Orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
(Sorry, it’s been a long day.)
79 min Another menacing PSG break. Kvaratskhelia teases a chip beyond the far post to Lee, who can’t quite control it on the chest as he tries to change direction.
79 min: Quadruple substitution for Liverpool Andy Robertson, Alexander Isak, Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo replace Milos Kerkez, Hugo Ekitike, Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz.
Shame you can’t press the red button to hear Mo Salah’s internal monologue right now.
78 min: PSG substitution Lee Kang-in replaces Desire Doue, who scored PSG’s first goal.
77 min “That is the sort of glorious nonsense goal I thought had gone out of style with quaaludes and Christopher Cross,” writes Kári Tulinius. “No wonder he got the nickname Kvaradona.”
76 min Doue sweeps a shot from 20 yards that is blocked by Konate. Liverpool are starting to look leggy.
75 min PSG are playing some terrific stuff now. This is one of the problems of playing against them – it demands a Tetrisish level of defensive concentration that has to catch up with you towards the end of the game.
71 min: No penalty! The referee is invited to go the monitor and he quickly overturns the decision. Konate certainly won the ball with a fine tackle; there’s also an argument that he leaned into Zaire-Emery first. I’m not 100 per cent sure it would have been overturned in the Premier League, but overall it feels like the correct decision.
70 min: Penalty to PSG! Liverpool thought Konate made a clean – and brilliant – last-ditch tackle on Zaire-Emery, but the referee has given a penalty.
Hmm, I can see both sides. I’m not sure it will be overturned.
Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate tackles Paris St Germain’s Warren Zaire-Emery. Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images/ReutersShare
Updated at 16.52 EDT
68 min That really is a delightful goal. Everything was happening so fast, with players moving all over the place, but Kvaratskhelia demonstrated remarkable spatial awareness and the composure of a bomb-disposal expert. He even took another step, after beating the keeper and Gomez, so that Kerkez’s momentum would take him out the way and increase the gap into which Kvaratskhelia could pass the ball.
This guy is a glorious player, who scores goals of unique brilliance. He made a great run off Gravenberch to receive Joao Neves’s brilliant angled pass from the left and move through on goal. He ignored Gravenberch’s challenge from behind – many players would have gone down, then veered away from both Mamardashvili and the wrongfooted Gomez on the six-yard line before passing the ball into the far corner. Wonderful finish.
PSG’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia evades the challenge of Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch (right) before going past Liverpool keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili … Photograph: Aurélien Morissard/APBefore slotting the ball home to score. Photograph: Stéphanie Lecocq/ReutersJoy for Kvaratskhelia (centre) and his PSG teammates. Photograph: Teresa Suárez/EPADespair for Hugo Ekitike and Liverpool. Photograph: Thibault Camus/APShare
Updated at 16.38 EDT
GOAL! Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Liverpool (Kvaratskhelia 65)
This is borderline genius from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Updated at 16.57 EDT
65 min Before the game Arne Slot said Alexander Isak would be able to play a maximum of around 20 minutes, so we might see him soon.
63 min The tie is intriguingly poised. A 1-0 defeat would be a good result for Liverpool, but they’ll also be mindful of last year’s tie, when they won 1-0 in Paris and still went out.
61 min Fine defending from Gomez, who lunges to block Hakimi’s short-range cross and concede a corner. He’s had a good game.
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.
Updated at 16.19 EDT
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!
Share53 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.
Paris St Germain’s Ousmane Dembele misses a chance to score by firing over the bar. Photograph: Christian Hartmann/ReutersShare
Updated at 16.16 EDT
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.
Updated at 16.05 EDT
Half-time reading
ShareHalf 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.
Updated at 15.46 EDT
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.
Updated at 15.42 EDT
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.
Updated at 15.37 EDT
31 min Mac Allister is booked for a late, inept lunge at Doue. No complaints that time.
Alexis Mac Allister of Liverpool fells Desire Doué of PSG and goes into the ref’s book. Photograph: Dave Winter/ShutterstockShare
Updated at 16.13 EDT
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.