Liverpool have now suffered defeat in 17 matches this season.
Less than a year after lifting the Premier League title, Liverpool, now under Arne Slot, find their season hinging on Champions League qualification.
For Slot, his future prospects may also be at stake. With no silverware secured this season, the Dutchman has acknowledged that failing to secure Champions League football would render this season “definitely not… acceptable.”
This latest loss, Liverpool’s 17th of the campaign, followed what was arguably one of their stronger performances. Until Ousmane Dembele’s 72nd-minute goal for Paris St-Germain, Liverpool had admirably challenged the reigning European champions.
“It was an intense match between two teams who played really good football,” noted PSG head coach Luis Enrique.
For Liverpool, there’s little disgrace in being eliminated by this PSG side. Luis Enrique’s team are an exciting spectacle, displaying confidence in possession.
However, the concern for Liverpool lies in their apparent regression.
When these teams clashed in the Champions League last 16 the previous season, PSG held the upper hand across both legs, ultimately requiring a penalty shootout to eliminate Liverpool.
This time, they outclassed Slot’s team in Paris, and while Liverpool showed promise in spells on Tuesday night, the aggregate scoreline of 4-0 was a fair reflection of the tie.
“Of course we are very disappointed because I think there were parts of the second half where you could feel ‘if we could just score now, this could become a very special night’,” said Slot.
“But the future looks very bright for this team, for this club. We have showed we can compete with the champions of Europe in our stadium. To be the dominant team, not many teams can be dominant against PSG and create as many chances as we did,” he added.
At Anfield, Liverpool’s expected goals (xG) stood at 1.94, compared to 0.18 at the Parc des Princes the previous week.
Thus, there were positives to extract, though considerable work remains before they can be considered serious contenders on the European stage once more.
Following the match, Mohamed Salah waved farewell to the Anfield crowd after what was his final Champions League appearance for Liverpool.
The question now is whether Slot and Liverpool will return to the Champions League next season.
Slot fears Ekitike injury is ‘really bad’
Slot made the bold decision to start Alexander Isak for the first time since December, after his ankle injury, and revealed before the match that he was only fit to play for one half.
In hindsight, the decision did not pay off. Isak managed only five touches in the 45 minutes before being replaced by Cody Gakpo at half-time. However, Slot defended his choice.
“He [Isak] was twice close to a goal and that’s why you play a striker of his level. There was one header from a set-piece and one great run in behind [Willian] Pacho where he was really close to scoring, which was eventually offside,” he said.
“It’s good to have him back. He was ready and if I thought he wasn’t ready then I wouldn’t have played him.”
However, the Liverpool boss’s decision was questionable, particularly given Liverpool’s increased threat after Gakpo’s introduction.
“That line-up to start was complete nonsense,” stated Julien Laurens on 5 Live. “That second half should have been how Liverpool started this game tonight to get the crowd going. It should not have been Alexander Isak to start.
“Arne Slot made errors in that first leg in his line-up in the way they set up. Tonight he cannot get it wrong. Tonight is not the night to get it wrong. He had to get it right from the beginning. Again, for me, he let the club down, the team down and the fans down.”
Former Liverpool player Stephen Warnock added: “I don’t know what to say about Alexander Isak. I watched him here against Fulham and he was awful.
“He was non-existent here tonight. He didn’t want to get any physical contact alongside Marquinhos. He was sort of wanting to bump into him. There was no wanting to build a platform for his team to get on to the ball.
“Cody Gakpo did more in five minutes than Isak did in the whole first half. He is not fit. He is nowhere near fit. That’s partly due to the injury he sustained against Tottenham, but sitting out pre-season, he has not got one ounce of fitness in him this season and it tells.
“And you think you can put him against PSG, in your biggest game of the season against the best team in Europe, and think you get a performance in 45 minutes? You can’t just switch it on and off.”
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