PARIS, March 12 — Paris St Germain finally banked on team cohesion rather than relying on individual brilliance to fulfil their European ambition and it paid off as they knocked out odds-on favourites Liverpool in the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday.
PSG were beaten 1-0 at the Parc des Princes after dominating the first leg throughout, but they survived the Anfield storm to prevail 1-0 in the second leg before going through on penalties.
With Kylian Mbappe moving to Real Madrid in the close season and following a frustrating league phase in the Champions League, few would have bet that PSG would emerge as top contenders after the winter break.
However, Liverpool coach Arne Slot had warned that Luis Enrique’s side were the best on the continent and that appeared to be the case, even if the Reds’ defeat at Anfield was as undeserved as their victory in Paris.
“Over the two legs we deserved to go through. Football does not always acknowledge merit, but tonight I’m happy we qualified because we deserved it,” PSG captain Marquinhos said.
“We have a team with young players, we want to build on them,” president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said.
“I would have said the same thing if we had not gone through the league phase, and if we had been eliminated tonight. We’ve got the best coach in the world, with technically gifted players.”
Luis Enrique’s possession game and intense pressing is more lethal than PSG have been used to in the past and they did exactly that when Ousmane Dembele scored the only goal with a soft touch at the end of a counter attack.
While Liverpool had Alisson to thank for keeping a clean sheet in the first leg, it was Gianluigi Donnarumma, whose soft hand allowed Harvey Elliott to score the winner in Paris, who played a key role with a string of saves and by stopping efforts from Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones in the shootout.
“Knocking Liverpool out is very tough,” said Luis Enrique.
“It would not have been possible without the team’s mindset and courage, and without Gigio.
“We just showed what kind of team we are, who play their own football, whatever ground they play on, even if it wasn’t easy at times here. We lived up to what the match demanded.”
Since 2012 — with the exception of the 2016-17 season — PSG have relied on marquee players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Neymar, Lionel Messi and Mbappe.
With a young team featuring the likes of Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola and an impeccable mindset, they have ingested Luis Enrique’s methods and despite their lack of experience, can aim high in Europe with the Ligue 1 title almost won already.
They will face Aston Villa or Club Brugge for a place in the semi-finals, a stage they reached last season. — Reuters
