Paris– ousmane dembele has a history of giving liverpool Hope when everything seems lost uefa champions league knockout tie, but Paris Saint Germain This time the forward can avoid it.
In 2019, with barcelona Leading 3–0 in the final seconds of the semi-final first leg against Liverpool at the Camp Nou, Dembele fired an easy chance over the crossbar to make it 4–0. Lionel Messi Was standing next to him, angrily scolding his then teammate for his failure to kill the tie.
We all know what happened next. Liverpool produced one of the most memorable second-leg fightbacks in Champions League history to win 4–0 at Anfield and reach the final, where they lost. Tottenham Hotspur In Madrid to win the European Cup for the sixth time.
Fast forward seven years and Dembele, now with PSG, was once again in the same situation, missing a hat-trick of clear chances to dash Liverpool’s hopes once again in the quarterfinal first leg at the Parc des Princes, leaving Arne Slot’s side with just one point. 2-0 It could have easily been a defeat instead of a 5-0 defeat against the reigning European champions.
But before Dembele and PSG coach Luis Enrique spend sleepless nights wondering what might have happened ahead of the trip to Anfield for next Tuesday’s return leg, there is one big difference they should not ignore.
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It was Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool who achieved the seemingly impossible goal against Barcelona, but this time, it is the team of the slot that Dembele has given a second chance and they showed in Paris that they are a completely different team to Klopp’s team in every aspect. The Slot team emerged from the French capital with Champions League hopes hanging on because of their style of play.
While Klopp’s side lost 3-0 against Barcelona after trying to win at the Camp Nou, Slot’s Liverpool had only one objective against PSG: keep the scoreline respectable enough to earn them a chance in the second leg.
In the end, this mission was accomplished, but only justifiably. If Dembele had brought his shooting boots, there would have been no event in the second leg and no possibility of another so-called Anfield glory night.
Slote would argue that the result justified his decision to abandon his usual back four in favor of a three-man defence. Milos Kerkez And jeremy frimpong Deployed as a wing back. There was no starting place for mohammed salah – who did not even appear from the substitutes’ bench, Slott added more tenacity to his new system and tried to ensure more time and space on the ball florian wertz.
In theory it was a good idea, but in practice, it served no purpose. Liverpool were played out of the field by PSG, and Wirtz barely got a touch.
“[PSG] “There were times that separated us,” Slott told reporters. Every strategy has been tried here, but the result is always the same, Paris Saint-Germain has defeated the opponent.
“They have a lot of weapons and are very difficult to play against. We were in a position to survive, but they kept us alive by missing chances.”
Liverpool were incredibly passive, defensive and negative. For fans with fond memories of the Klopp era, this amounted to a betrayal of the former manager’s legacy. Their self-proclaimed “heavy metal football” has been slowly phased out by slots, but it has been muted in this game.
Liverpool gave nothing. They had only 26% possession – PSG had 744 passes as opposed to Liverpool’s 253 – and three shots compared to the 18 PSG registered. None of Liverpool’s efforts were on target, but when you have only nine touches in the penalty area, it’s difficult to test the opposition goalkeeper.
When? Desiree Douay Having put PSG ahead in the 11th minute, it looked like Liverpool were in for a long night. That proved to be the case, but PSG’s failure to take advantage of their dominance kept Liverpool in the game.
PSG kept getting chances one after the other. Douay missed another chance, Dembele was repeatedly wasteful and the home team allowed themselves to overplay, making too many flicks and moves when a more direct approach would have put Liverpool under unbearable pressure.
Khvicha kvaratskheliya PSG finally doubled their lead in the 65th minute when he scored a solo goal after being released joao neves. That was another moment when it felt like the doors would open. But Liverpool saved again in the 70th minute when the penalty was overturned after VAR intervention Ibrahima Konate won the ball in a challenge with Warren Zaire-Emery.
Liverpool were teetering, waiting for the killer blow, but Dembele missed two more chances. The final score of 2-0 felt like some kind of victory for Slott’s team rather than a defeat.
Yet it has now been three consecutive defeats in all competitions for Liverpool, and they are clearly a team in transition. They are also a team in decline, and all memories of Klopp’s golden era were extinguished in Paris.
If Klopp’s side were preparing for next week’s second leg, anything was possible. But this is not the case with this team. Slott’s Liverpool have become everything Klopp’s team was not, so Dembele can sleep easy this time.
