Holders Paris St Germain were a cut above Liverpool as goals by Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia spurred them to a 2-0 home win, in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg, at the Parc des Princes in Paris, France.
Arne Slot opted for a back three with wings but the defence held for only 11 minutes. Doue’s shot took a slight deflection off Ryan Gravenberch and went out of Giorgi Mamardashvili’s reach.
Doue and Kvaratskhelia struck either side of halftime to give Luis Enrique’s side a solid advantage ahead of next week’s return at Anfield, where PSG booked their place in the last eight last season.
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As the visitors’ defence scrambled a clearance, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia fired a half-volley that forced Mamardashvili to fully stretch. The keeper then denied Doue from point-blank range. Next, Ousmane Dembele missed a golden opportunity to double the advantage.
Then in the 65th minute, Joao Neves played in a racing Kvaratskhelia and the Georgian danced his way through the area, rounded Mamardashvili and slotted the ball home.
Dembele’s angled shot crashed onto the post and Nuno Mendes fluffed a golden chance in the final minutes as Liverpool preserved a slim hope of overturning the deficit next Tuesday. 2-0!
Liverpool, thrashed 4-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals at the weekend, set up cautiously with three centre backs and Mohamed Salah on the bench. However, they struggled to contain a PSG side with a surplus of attacking talent.
