Steve Nicol and Craig Burley react to Liverpool's Champions League exit vs. PSG. (2:28)
LIVERPOOL, England -- In the end, Liverpool's latest European odyssey ended not with a bang, but with a whimper.
The second leg of the Reds' UEFA Champions League quarterfinal tie with Paris Saint-Germain had all the ingredients to be a European classic, and in many ways it delivered. The Anfield crowd was at its vicious, vociferous best as momentum swung between two sides capable, to varying degrees, of genuine excellence. Liverpool -- who for much of this term have looked a pale imitation of the side that romped to last season's Premier League title -- ran and slid and pumped their fists as they sought to overturn a daunting 2-0 first-leg deficit.
But, just as they were at the Parc des Princes last week, PSG were simply too good. The European champions were made to suffer at times on Tuesday night, but they held their nerve. And when chances arose to underscore their dominance in this tie, Ousmane Dembélé seized them, scoring twice in the second half to send the French side through to the semifinals with a 2-0 win and a 4-0 aggregate victory.
Moments after the Ballon d'Or winner had netted the visitors' second of the evening, Florian Wirtz lashed a wild effort over the bar for Liverpool to a chorus of jeers from the traveling PSG fans. In many ways, the sequence encapsulated the current disparity between the two sides.
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PSG have struck the perfect blend of arrogance and humility. They are totally assured of their own brilliance but possess the alacrity to back up the hype by leaving everything out on the pitch.
Like Liverpool, they are a side are packed with star power. Yet while PSG boss Luis Enrique has been able to corral his players into one glittering constellation, Arne Slot has yet to imbue his team with the confidence to truly sparkle. Still, it was telling that there were no signs of mutiny at the final whistle, even as the wind and rain swirled around Anfield.
Instead, the majority of Liverpool supporters stayed behind and applauded in recognition of a battling display from their side. The hosts generated an expected goals (xG) value of 1.94 compared to the visitors' 1.25, had 21 shots compared to PSG's 12 and recorded more than double the amount of touches in the opposition box.
Had PSG center back Marquinhos not slid in at the last to deny Virgil van Dijk a certain goal in the first half, or had Liverpool's penalty for a challenge on Alexis Mac Allister not been overturned in the second, the outcome could have been very different. But, ultimately, fortune did not favor Slot's side.
That, too, has been an enduring theme of Liverpool's season. So many times, when it has looked as if the Reds have managed to pick themselves up and dust themselves off, the fates have conspired to send them tumbling back onto the canvas.
Here, the withdrawal of Hugo Ekitike after half an hour with what looked like a serious injury presented yet another setback for Liverpool to overcome. Before Tuesday, the French attacker had shared the pitch for only 88 minutes with fellow summer signings Wirtz and Alexander Isak, who was handed his first start in more than four months against PSG after recovering from a broken leg. That the trio have so seldom been afforded the chance to forge a connection reflects the tribulations Slot has had to contend with this term, with the Dutchman now unlikely to have all three players available before the end of the campaign.
On his return to the starting lineup, Isak struggled to showcase the quality that saw Liverpool splash a British-record £125 million on him last summer, enjoying just five touches before his withdrawal at the break. With nothing to lose in the second half, the Reds attacked with a fervor that has evaded them for much of the season, but a cocktail of poor finishing and fine goalkeeping from Matvei Safonov denied them the opportunity to truly set this contest alight.
"Of course, we are very disappointed because I think there were parts of the second half where you could feel, 'If we could just score now, this could become a very special night'," Slot said in his postmatch news conference. "But the future looks very bright for this team, for this club. We have showed we can compete with the champions of Europe in our stadium. To be the dominant team, not many teams can be dominant against PSG and create as many chances as we did. Creating chances is one thing, scoring is a second."
While Slot will be left to rue his team falling foul of the fine margins, the external clamor surrounding his future will no doubt continue to swell as Liverpool brace for their first trophyless season since 2021. The Reds have lost 17 of their 50 games in all competitions and must successfully navigate a tricky run of fixtures -- starting with this weekend's visit to Merseyside rivals Everton -- if they are to be playing in the Champions League again next season.
For Liverpool, it is now top five or bust. With no Champions League miracle to cling to, even that might not be enough to convince supporters that Slot should still be in the dugout the next time Anfield plays host to one of Europe's elite.
