Ahead of the highly anticipated clash between Premier League leaders Liverpool and Ligue 1 frontrunners Paris Saint-Germain, Arne Slot was asked if he was “afraid” of the Parisian giants.
Given that Liverpool topped the UCL group stage, it’s fair to say that playing PSG may not exactly have been the prize they picked for doing so.
“Do we fear PSG? We don’t fear anybody,” Slot said confidently.
Perhaps they should have feared them a little more than advertised.
All post-match stats would have pointed to Paris Saint-Germain winning the game comfortably, as PSG had an incredible ten shots on goal to Liverpool’s one, finished with 76% possession, and posted an xG of 2.58 to Liverpool’s 0.25.
Liverpool went on to win the game 1-0.
How in the world did they do it?
3. Adequate last-ditch defending
This one came in quite unbelievable circumstances, but a clean sheet is a clean sheet after all, and it takes two to tango between defense and goalkeepers.
Liverpool’s backline was repeatedly torn apart by PSG’s attack in the first half, with Ousmane Dembélé’s dancing feet leading the charge.
They were quite fortunate that Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s 20th-minute strike was ruled marginally offside, as that could have opened the floodgates for the Parisians.
But ultimately, the Reds tightened up enough in the second half to see the game through, as Virgil van Dijk in particular turned around his performance from the first 45 minutes to return to a semblance of his usual self.
I thought that Trent Alexander-Arnold also stepped it up from the first half, combining with van Dijk to boot the ball out of danger zones in Liverpool’s final third consistently.
As PSG made more substitutions in an attempt to punish Liverpool’s tired legs, their free-flowing linkup play in the first half seemed to fade, opening the door for the Reds to really hunker down in their first half and pick up an undeserved draw.
That is, until…
2. Arne Slot’s subs come through again
From a pure managerial point of view, I thought that Arne Slot was quite stubborn overall.
His strategy of having the Reds playing back in their own half as they did against Manchester City nearly punished them multiple times, but Slot seemed determined to trust his game plan the whole way through.
Slot’s faith in his entire team was amplified that much more through a set of substitutions that may live in Liverpool fame if the team can go on to win this competition–Darwin Núñez replacing Diogo Jota in the 67th minute and Harvey Elliott coming on for Mo Salah (yes, Mo Salah) in the 86th minute.
Roughly 60 seconds after Elliott came on the field, Núñez corralled a hopeful long ball played by Alisson Becker (who we’ll get to soon) and suddenly found Harvey streaking into the box.
With his first touch of the game, Elliott drove his boot into the ball with a first-time finish, beating PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma on the first shot on target he saw all evening. Talk about instant impact.
The goal is quite incredible for so many reasons–not only was removing Salah, one of Slot’s most reliable 90-minute players, bold, but both Núñez and Elliott have been seemingly fighting for their spots on the first team amidst whispers of their future. They just announced their intent to keep fighting loud and clear.
This isn’t Slot’s first time seeing his substitutions end up being immediately fruitful, as Jota and Kostas Tsimikas likewise combined for a goal from a Liverpool corner moments after they had come on the pitch vs. Nottingham Forest at City Ground.
It’s also worth noting Wataru Endo’s reliability once again, stepping in for Ryan Gravenberch in the 79th minute on a rare night when the Dutchman was off his game.
Endo provided multiple interceptions and tackles after coming on, showing off the immense defensive work rate that has come to be his trademark ability.
But all of these factors feel ultimately secondary to…
1. Alisson Becker’s career night
Please forget I wrote this article two months back.
Alisson just turned in one of his best ever performances in a Liverpool shirt, almost single-handedly giving the Reds a positive result when they likely didn’t deserve one.
But don’t just take it from me: “That was arguably the greatest performance of his career,” club legend Jamie Carragher said after the match.
Liverpool’s No. 1 denied all ten of PSG’s shots on target, and even launched a ball into play that turned into a crucial goal for the Reds.
The Brazilian made European history in the process, as Liverpool won the game on his shoulders despite a shot differential of -25, the joint largest deficit for a winning team in the history of the Champions League knockout stage.
While stellar goalkeeping hasn’t been required much in the Reds’ torrid run to the top of the Premier League table, it’s encouraging to see that their net-minders are still producing big moments in Europe between Alisson’s heroics and Caoimhín Kelleher’s likewise memorable penalty save vs. Real Madrid in the group stage.
Liverpool’s usual suspects of late such as Mo Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai were inadequate all evening long in Paris, but if the essence of goalkeeping is to “bail” your team out, Alisson did this and more.
Hopefully Alisson won’t be forced to have a performance similar to this one for the rest of Liverpool’s UCL campaign, but boy, is it good to know he can do something like this tonight if needed.