Kolkata: It was not the size of the fight in Liverpool but the sheer supremacy of Paris St-Germain (PSG) that decided this Champions League quarter-final. The ambipedal Ousmane Dembele’s brace on Tuesday made it 4-0 over two legs and encapsulated why Arne Slot had spoken of Liverpool being in the survival mode while the champions of Europe were hitting the high notes in Paris.
Yes, PSG got a Ligue 1 match shifted to May to stay fresh for this tie. Yes, they are in pole position in the league which they have won for the past four seasons and in 11 of the past 13. These details matter to provide context, not to question their superiority. PSG are three matches away from being only the second team to defend the Champions League title.
“You can see what sort of team we are, what players I’ve got. We’ve got confidence and belief. It’s wonderful to be living this experience with this team,” said head coach Luis Enrique after his third Champions League semi-final with PSG.
Like in the FA Cup quarter-final, Liverpool had their moments. Mohamed Salah missed a one-on-one and Hugo Ekitike shanked a shot from close before Manchester City scored. On a wet Tuesday night at Anfield which booed every time PSG had the ball, Alexander Isak and Virgil van Dijk came close to scoring. Cody Gakpo tested Matvéi Safonóv, a penalty for a foul on Alexis Mac Allister by Willian Pacho was revoked, Joe Gomez was unable to keep a free header on target and Rio Ngumoha forced a good save from Safonóv.
Liverpool had 50 touches in the opposition box, PSG 24. They had 21 attempts on goal, 21 times more than they managed in Paris. Liverpool had 53% possession and forced PSG into making 29 clearances, more than double what they had to make.
Slot gambled on Isak, starting the Swede for the first time in five months after a broken fibula. It meant the expensively assembled attacking line of Isak, Florian Wirtz and Ekitike, which had not lasted the duration of a football match in 2025-26 due to injuries, was together in Liverpool’s last chance to win a trophy this season. Ekitike hurting possibly the Achilles meant the association lasted less than 30 minutes. Isak was anonymous. Again, these details matter if only to provide context for why this was Liverpool’s 17th defeat in all competitions this term.
Liverpool’s press, especially at the start of the second half, had PSG penned in. “You have to suffer if you are going to go all the way in this competition,” Dembele told Canal Plus. Even Enrique acknowledged that Liverpool deserved a goal. Not being clinical was one reason why this wasn’t a night like when Liverpool overturned a 0-3 deficit against Barcelona. PSG’s defence, bold and brilliant in equal measure, was another.
Proof of the first came in the 57th minute when Milos Kerkez bombed into the penalty box and met an excellent ball from Salah but was caught between passing and shooting. The challenge from Marquinhos in the 31st minute to deny Van Dijk was an example of the second.
Salah’s delivery was headed by Ibrahima Konate to Kerkez and the left back’s shot was saved by Safonóv only to fall within Van Dijk’s kicking range. In his 519th match for PSG, Marquinhos flung himself to keep the ball out and celebrated with a roar and fist pumps. In the FA Cup, it was Abdukodir Khusanov who had got just enough to deflect Salah’s attempt. Both moves came from Giorgi Mamardashvili going long.
For all their suffering, PSG forced Mamardashvili into a double save in the 11th minute and Dembele could have put the tie to bed in the 17th after his quick throw-in caught Liverpool out. He did in the 72nd with a left-footer from the top of the box after Bradley Barcola and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia combined to find the 2025 FIFA men’s player of the year. Cue, the telephone celebration where he calls but gets no answer.
Barcola and Kvaratskhelia combined again to find Dembele in 90+1 and this time he scored with his right foot. Injuries have hampered his season but he still has 16 goals, four of them in Europe, from 32 starts. Between the goals, Barcola and Dembele had Mamardashvili out of position but could not score.
“We should have won but it’s also the quality of PSG that they don’t concede with all the chances we had and the finishing of Ousmane Dembele showed why he won the Ballon d’Or,” said Slot.
