There is nothing quite like the Champions League on nights like this. The drama, the tension, the tears, the celebrations — all witnessed at Anfield after Liverpool, who strolled through the league-phase stage, were knocked out by Europe’s form team Paris Saint-Germain. Liverpool had never previously been eliminated from Europe after winning a first leg away from home.
Mohamed Salah was in tears at full time. Will he be back in red in next season’s competition? As well as PSG, we gained a good look at three other potential winners this season — Inter, Barcelona and Bayern Munich — who all eased through to the last eight. Yep, it’s getting to the business end now.
Have PSG come of age? After a tight, tense two-legged encounter between two of the best teams in Europe which had to be settled on penalties, it is perhaps unfair to say one team deserved it more than the other. But, after 210 minutes, you would be hard pressed to make a case against PSG being worthy winners. They dominated last week’s first leg in Paris, which ended with a freakish result given the respective performances of the two sides, and at Anfield they again had more shots than their hosts (21 to 19) and a higher expected goals (xG) figure (2.
56 to 1.64). This was a much more even encounter, with Liverpool enjoying a prolonged period of relentless dominance in the second half when PSG’s goal led a charmed life with desperate clearances off the line and great saves from Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Bu.