PSG head coach Luis Enrique could not believe that his side didn’t beat Liverpool in the Champions League. But the Spaniard was gracious in accepting the result ahead of the second leg next Tuesday.
“It is difficult to think about the match in a positive way,” Enrique told TNT Sports in an honest interview. “We deserved to win, clearly. We created a lot of chances. The best player of Liverpool was their goalkeeper Alisson.”
The Ligue 1 leader had 27 shots across the 90 minutes but Alisson stood up and produced a superb showing between the sticks. Harvey Elliott then popped up with a late smash-and-grab winner to give Liverpool the lead in the tie.
“Football is many times unfair, but we have to accept that,” Enrique said. “We are ready to go to Liverpool. We don’t have anything to lose, and today Liverpool created one or two chances maximum.
“I’m proud of my players. Liverpool is a top quality team and I think they didn’t feel that [level of opponent] this season with Arne Slot. For us, it is important but we have a last chance. Of course, we are going to do it.”
Leading the French top flight by 13 points, PSG had been on a 10-match winning streak. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembele were electric but Alisson got in the way and Liverpool held on.
(Image: Getty Images)
“I don’t think I have played with a goalkeeper at [Alisson’s] level, which is normal because he is the best in the world,” Slot said in his own post-match interview. “I had some very good players as a manager, but I never had the best goalkeeper in the world.
“He showed that today. To go away with a win over here was probably a bit more than we deserved.”
Liverpool faces Southampton in the Premier League at the weekend before the return leg in the Champions League against PSG comes next Tuesday. Elliott’s goal has firmly placed the Reds in the driving seat, still with an Anfield advantage to cash in.
Liverpool.com says: Enrique was gracious in defeat and he deserves a lot of credit for that. It would be easy for him to be furious with how the game went because his side deserved to score. Alisson Becker, though, had other ideas…
