Paris Saint-Germain’s players were apparently surprised by the underwhelming performance of Liverpool’s players on Wednesday in the Champions League meeting at the Parc des Princes, so much so that, despite defeat, it has made the team even more confident of qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Liverpool had Alisson to thank in Paris as he produced a record-breaking nine saves to repeatedly keep out the likes of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembele, before a late Harvey Elliott strike saw the Reds come away with the most unlikely of wins from the first leg.
Even Arne Slot couldn’t deny that his team got lucky, while Alisson claimed it was the best individual performance of his career . The Parisians certainly felt they were denied a victory purely based on the performances of one man.
Achraf Hakimi claimed Alisson was ‘man of the match’, Kvaratskhelia said the team ‘deserved much more’, Willian Pacho stated PSG could get ‘a good result’ at Anfield, while Vitinha was the most bullish of the lot. “We’re going to go there, we’re going to play a great game and this time, we’re going to score. And we’re going to go through, I’m sure of it,” said the Portugal international.
It’s an insight into PSG’s mindset ahead of the second leg next week, while French outlet L’Equipe has provided more details regarding just how confident Luis Enrique’s side is.
“In the locker room after the match, the atmosphere did not seem gloomy or sad as one might have imagined after such a cruel defeat,” the newspaper stated in a recent report. “Some players approached Gianluigi Donnarumma, who was not blameless on the goal and was clearly marked, to tell him: ‘Don’t worry, we’ll qualify’.”
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A source added: “We looked them in the eye, we were superior.” L’Equipe also claims the players were ‘surprised by Liverpool’s level on Wednesday evening’ and ‘their total technical control over the match’ leading to a feeling of complete confidence that the side will progress on Wednesday night.
Before that, PSG has a Ligue 1 match against Rennes to focus on. While Enrique wouldn’t entertain questions about Liverpool in his pre-match press conference on Friday, it seems his focus has already turned to the second leg at Anfield. With a 13-point gap at the league summit, that’s understandable.
L’Equipe claims Marquinhos, Nuno Mendes, Joao Neves, Kvaratskhelia and Dembele could all be rested this weekend against Rennes with ‘the players are already looking towards Anfield’. Whether Arne Slot takes the same approach against Southampton could prove pivotal to Liverpool’s chances of progressing, but he knows few sides will travel to Anfield with the sort of optimism and self-belief that PSG has demonstrated.
