Liverpool have a mountain to climb if the club is to remain in the Champions League beyond the quarterfinal stage, falling 2–0 to Paris Saint-Germain in Wednesday’s first leg.
Arne Slot’s team arrived at Parc des Princes as the massive underdog due to contrasting domestic form and went behind quickly to a deflected goal from electric PSG winger Désiré Doué.
Liverpool weren’t bad per se, just penned in by a very good opponent and extremely limited in their own endeavors. Still, PSG could have been out of sight even by halftime, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Doué both denied via top saves by Giorgi Mamardashvili before the interval.
The Reds mustered a first shot shortly after the break from Hugo Ekitiké, although it did nothing to worry Matvey Safonov. They were then let off the hook at the other end by Ousmane Dembélé, missing the target from a glorious position, but not by Kvaratskhelia.
It was a superb goal of the highest quality, set up beautifully by João Neves and finished by the Georgian with composure after keeping his balance under pressure in a crowded box.
A penalty called on Ibrahima Konaté was overturned by VAR, to Liverpool’s relief, before Mamardashvili made another stop to stop Achraf Hakimi netting, and Dembélé struck the post.
One Thing We Can’t Ignore
Arne Slot completely changed his system to try and mask the deficiencies that have plagued Liverpool all season, packing the defense on the edge of the penalty area in an effort to frustrate PSG and limit spaces the reigning European champions could play in. There was little desire to go and win the ball, instead focused on absorbing pressure and looking to counterattack.
Fullbacks Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez flanked three center backs, with Joe Gomez joining usual pair Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté.
The thing is, if that was intended to keep Liverpool in the game for as long as possible with one eye on next week’s return leg at Anfield, it very quickly did not work because of the early goal.
The defense-first approach left Hugo Ekitiké isolated from his teammates, with Dominik Szoboszlai trying in vain to link things together. Florian Wirtz was invisible.
Liverpool Player Ratings vs. PSG (3-4-1-2)
GK: Giorgi Mamardashvili—6.4: In for Alisson for the third straight game. Made saves, did his best.
CB: Ibrahima Konaté—6.6: Easily spun by Doué in PSG’s left channel in the first place to set up the move for the early breakthrough. Trying to win the ball there, out of his usual comfort zone, was probably the result of the new system. A penalty against him was eventually deemed a great tackle.
CB: Virgil van Dijk—6.0: Annoyance with his teammates has been played out in public in recent days and there was a moment early on when barking instructions at Gravenberch appeared to point at a breakdown in communication.
CB: Joe Gomez—6.2: Played an hour against Man City and the full 90 here. Thrown to the wolves.
RM: Jeremie Frimpong—5.5: Liverpool’s best attacking outlet early on due to his running ability on the flank, yet he looked very vulnerable defensively without enough protection.
CM: Ryan Gravenberch—6.6: Unfortunate in one sense that the early goal took a massive deflection off him. However, hanging a leg was the lazy way to try and block the shot.
CM: Alexis Mac Allister—6.0: Yellow carded in the first half when he cut down Doué and was nowhere near the ball. It was symbolic of just how far away from PSG he was all night.
LM: Milos Kerkez—6.8: Had an easier time of it defensively than Frimpong, winning 80% of his ground duels.
AM: Dominik Szoboszlai—6.4: Covered ground all over the pitch trying to get his team moving. Guilty of losing possession a little too regularly.
ST: Florian Wirtz—6.7: Saw a shot blocked well into the second half but involved too infrequently.
ST: Hugo Ekitiké—6.1: Fired his only shot high and wide. Starved off meaningful service but also found it too tough to hold onto the ball when it did come his way.
SUB: Andrew Robertson (78’ for Kerkez)—6.1
SUB: Alexander Isak (78’ for Wirtz)—5.8
SUB: Curtis Jones (78’ for Szoboszlai)—6.3
SUB: Cody Gakpo (78’ for Ekitiké)—5.9
SUB: Trey Nyoni (90’ for Frimpong)—N/A
Subs not used: Freddie Woodman (GK), Kornell Misciur, Federico Chiesa, Mohamed Salah, Rio Ngumoha.
What the Ratings Tell Us
- The whole team is underperforming. A lot has to do with PSG’s immense quality, but Liverpool aren’t exactly short of world-class talent and none stepped up.
- Age catches up with everyone and Virgil van Dijk is past his best. The veteran defender seemed better suited than Mohamed Salah to staving off the decline, but his struggles to perform on the stage he was previously so comfortable on cannot be overlooked.
- Arguably the changes came too late, which is on the manager, but Liverpool’s substitutes did very little to swing momentum back their team’s way.
The Numbers That Explain Liverpool’s Humbling Night in Paris
- By halftime, Liverpool had managed zero shots, created zero big chances and accrued in the opening 45 minutes 0.00 xG. It was only 82 passes, compared to more than 300 from PSG.
- Liverpool saw so little of the ball, 26%, they were never realistically going to cause problems. When they did have it, they gave it away too easily, completing only 75% of passes.
- The Reds were lucky it was not a more one-sided scoreline in the end, as PSG marginally underperformed their xG and missed three of their four big chances.
| Statistic | PSG | Liverpool |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 74% | 26% |
| Expected Goals (xG) | 2.20 | 0.18 |
| Total Shots | 18 | 3 |
| Shots on Target | 6 | 0 |
| Big Chances | 4 | 0 |
| Pass Accuracy | 92% | 75% |
| Fouls Committed | 8 | 12 |
| Corners | 3 | 1 |
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Liverpool Player Ratings vs. PSG: Champions League Status Hanging by a Thread.
