Liverpool huffed and puffed but they couldn’t breach Paris Saint-Germain’s defensive barrier, and Arne Slot will not be tasting European glory in his first season at the Anfield helm.
It’s the first major blot on Slot’s copybook. He succeeded Jurgen Klopp last summer and has steered Liverpool to within touching distance of the Premier League title, with Wembley also looming large this weekend.
But despite Harvey Elliott’s incredible late winner at the Parc des Princes last week, defying the Ligue 1 giant’s dominance, Liverpool couldn’t find a way through at Anfield and are out of the Champions League in the last 16.
It’s hard to pin down any one thing on the crushing defeat, but Liverpool’s frontline flattered to deceive on the continental stage and will have given Slot and sporting director Richard Hughes plenty of food for thought.
Liverpool's forwards misfire in Europe
Mohamed Salah was kept relatively quiet once again, but he did look to make things happen and proved a threat with some neat tricks, close misses and dangerous passing.
Likewise, Luis Diaz ran to and fro, to and fro, stretching the French opposition but to little avail. The men in the middle, however, typified Liverpool’s problems, with Diogo Jota shackled and Darwin Nunez out of sync and ineffective in his stead, replacing the Portugal international after 73 minutes.
The pointers suggest FSG are going to move for a high-class central striker this summer, and you can see why.
Minutes
73′
47′
Goals
0
0
Assists
0
0
Touches
33
14
Shots (on target)
3 (0)
0 (0)
Accurate passes
12/17 (71%)
5/8 (63%)
Key passes
0
0
Dribbles
0/3
0/1
Duels won
2/10
3/8
Neither Jota nor Nunez provided anything meaningful, with the latter missing his spot-kick and heightening Curtis Jones’ nerve, for the midfielder subsequently hit a tame strike at the unbeatable Gigi Donnarumma.
However, the blame cannot lie solely on the strikers, as the home side still found some more errors leaked into their game and this was showcased by one Liverpool star who raised his levels after recent months but still failed to produce the desired effect.
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Liverpool star proved he's reaching the end
While questions linger regarding the futures of Liverpool’s non-committal contract rogues, there are a few more who might be reaching the end of their Anfield journeys.
Andy Robertson is one of them, with the 31-year-old left-back flattering to deceive for large parts of the current campaign despite Liverpool’s immense season.
As per Sofacore, he lost the ball 24 times during his 90 minutes on the field as he sought to make things happen for the Reds but struggled to hit the kind of consistency of years past, finding his target with one of ten attempted crosses.
Moreover, the Scotland skipper was exposed during the build-up to Ousmane Dembele’s opening goal, a moment that proved crucial in the grand scheme of the evening.
He did show plenty of spirit thereafter and wasn’t run ragged by PSG’s devastating and interchangeable frontline, but Robertson simply isn’t what he used to be, with wayward passing, questionable decision-making and unconvincing positioning underpinning the issues in this Liverpool squad.
And there are issues. However, let’s all take a moment. Liverpool now turn toward a Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday and remain 15 points clear at the top of the Premier League. Falling in Europe doesn’t change that.
But this time next week, the Merseysiders will have one road to travel down for the final few months of the campaign, and next season, Slot will hope to exercise Champions League demons to be sure.
Hopefully, Robertson’s still at the club, he is a legend after all. But Liverpool need younger and more robust improvements to take them to the next level, and this was illustrated against a fearsome PSG side, who advance to the last eight.
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