PARIS — Ousmane Dembélé has a history of giving Liverpool hope when all seems lost in a UEFA Champions League knockout tie, but the Paris Saint-Germain forward might get away with it this time.
In 2019, with Barcelona 3-0 up in the dying seconds of their semifinal first leg against Liverpool at Camp Nou, Dembélé blazed an easy chance to make it 4-0 over the crossbar. Lionel Messi stood next to him, furiously rebuking 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 defeated Tottenham Hotspur in Madrid to lift the European Cup for the sixth time.
Fast forward seven years and Dembélé was at it again, missing a hat trick of clear chances that would have snuffed out Liverpool’s hopes in the quarterfinal first leg at Parc des Princes. It leaves Arne Slot’s side with merely a 2-0 deficit to overturn, rather than what could quite easily have been a 5-0 humiliation against the reigning European champions.
But before Dembélé and PSG coach Luis Enrique endure sleepless nights thinking of what might have been before they travel to Anfield for next Tuesday’s return fixture, there is one big difference that they shouldn’t overlook.
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It was Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool that achieved the seemingly impossible against Barcelona, but this time, it is Slot’s team that Dembélé has given a second chance to, and they showed in Paris that they are completely different outfit in every element to Klopp’s side. Liverpool emerged from the French capital with their Champions League hopes hanging by a thread because of the way they played.
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 for them to have a chance in the second leg.
In the end, it was mission accomplished, but only just. Had Dembélé brought his shooting boots, the second leg would have been rendered a non-event with no prospect of another so-called Anfield glory night.
Slot will argue that the result justified his decision to abandon his usual back four in favor of a three-man defense, with Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong deployed as wing backs. There was no starting spot for Mohamed Salah — who didn’t even appear from the substitutes’ bench, with Slot choosing his new system to both offer more solidity and attempt to ensure more time and space on the ball for Florian Wirtz.
It was a sound idea in theory, but in practice, neither objective was met. Liverpool were played off the pitch by PSG, and Wirtz barely had a touch.
Liverpool didn’t register a single shot on target in a 2-0 loss to PSG that could have easily been more lopsided. Justin Setterfield/Getty Images“[PSG] ripped us apart at times,” Slot told reporters. “Every tactic has been tried over here, but the result is always the same, with Paris Saint-Germain blowing the opponent away.
“They have so many weapons and it makes them so difficult to play against. We were in survival mode, but they kept us alive by missing their chances.”
Liverpool were incredibly passive, defensive and negative. For those fans with fond memories of the Klopp era, this was akin to a betrayal of the former manager’s legacy. His self-styled “heavy metal football” has been gradually phased out by Slot, but it was turned down to mute in this game.
Liverpool offered nothing. They had just 26% possession — PSG had 744 passes opposed to Liverpool’s 253 — and three shots compared to the 18 registered by PSG. None of Liverpool’s attempts hit the target, but when you only have nine touches in the penalty area, it is difficult to test the opposing goalkeeper.
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When Désiré Doué put PSG ahead in the 11th minute, it seemed that Liverpool were in for a long night. That proved to be so, but PSG’s failure to capitalize on their dominance kept Liverpool in the game.
Chance after chance fell PSG’s way. Doué missed another opportunity, Dembélé was repeatedly wasteful and PSG allowed themselves to overplay, doing too many flicks and tricks when a more direct approach would have put Liverpool under intolerable pressure.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia finally doubled PSG’s lead in the 65th minute when he scored a solo goal after being released by João Neves. That was another moment when it appeared that the floodgates would open. But Liverpool escaped again in the 70th minute when a penalty was overturned following a VAR intervention that deemed center back Ibrahima Konaté had won the ball in a challenge with PSG midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery.
Liverpool were creaking, waiting for the killer blow, but Dembélé missed two more chances. The 2-0 final score felt like some kind of win for Slot’s side, rather than a defeat.
Yet it is now three successive defeats in all competitions for Liverpool, and they are clearly a team in transition. They are also a team in decline, and any lingering memories of Klopp’s golden era were extinguished in Paris.
If Klopp’s side was preparing for next week’s second leg, anything would be possible. But not so with this team. Slot’s Liverpool have become everything that Klopp’s side wasn’t, so Dembélé can sleep easily this time.
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