Liverpool refuse to wave white flag against, but don’t bet on another famous comeback

Good evening and welcome to live coverage of the Champions League quarter-final, first leg match between the champions, Paris Saint-Germain, and Liverpool at Parc des Princes. Thirteen months ago this was the pick of the round of 16 ties and comprised two terrific games, Liverpool’s 1-0 victory in the Eternal City coming by virtue of Harvey Elliott’s late goal, a minute after coming on as a substitute, and a virtuoso act in goal by Alisson. A week later Ousmane Dembélé would level the tie at Anfield in one of the finest European matches this author has ever seen before PSG and Gigi Donnarumma saw off the hosts in the shoot-out, the giant octopus of a goalkeeper making magnificent saves from Darwin Núñez and Curtis Jones, both of which were respectable efforts.

Liverpool would go on to win the Premier League, PSG their 13th Ligue 1 and maiden Champions League and although tonight’s home side decided to get rid of Donnarumma which has demonstrably weakened them, the visitors’s starting XI is in far worse shape a season on despite their massive outlay, having tragically lost Diogo Jota and, more prosaically, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Díaz. 

Their 4-0 defeat by Manchester City in the FA Cup and recent defeats by Brighton and Wolves in the league have exposed glaring defensive vulnerabilities. While all the focus has been on Mohammed Salah’s waning powers, Virgil van Dijk’s have been overlooked and could give Dembélé, Bradley Barcola and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia the space to run riot unless Liverpool wake up. And they won’t have Alisson, missing with an unspecified injury, to bail them out if they let those three gazelles run in behind.  

Wataru Endo, Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni are still unavailable and will be for the rest of the season but Alexander Isak, English football’s most expensive player, has travelled. PSG, who lead Ligue 1 by four points with a game in hand, are at full strength apart from Fabian Ruiz and young Quentin Ndantjou.