Liverpool deservedly lost away in the first leg, even the 0-2 score somewhat did not fully reflect PSG's strength in France. A week later, The Kop returned to Anfield to play the second leg. They also lost 0-2 but this time there was a bit of regret when the god of luck sometimes turned his back on Arne Slot's army.
Since losing to Real Madrid in the 2022 Champions League final, Liverpool has only had one match with so many shots but has not scored. The home team shot 21 times (PSG is 12) but could not penetrate the opponent's net. Liverpool also had 50 touches in the opponent's penalty area, compared to 24 for PSG and created an xG index of 1.94, compared to 1.25 for the away team.
The defeat to PSG shows Liverpool's typical image this season. The lack of luck in finishing has made their performance decline, once plunging uncontrollably. Meanwhile, with not outstanding chances but possessing excellent individuals like Ousmane Dembele, PSG finished the match neatly.
The rest of the season is predicted to be even more difficult for Liverpool as they just lost Hugo Ekitike. The French striker suffered an Achilles tendon injury in the second leg and is determined to be out for the rest of the 2026 World Cup.
This weekend, Liverpool enters the Merseyside Derby with the task of winning to continue nurturing hopes of participating in the Champions League next season. Now there is no room for correcting mistakes or rebuilding anything, only the result is the most accurate answer.
Returning to the recent match against PSG, Alexander Isak made a comeback after a long break due to injury. This is Arne Slot's gamble because Isak has not really regained 100% fitness. The Swedish striker only touched the ball 5 times in 45 minutes before being replaced by Cody Gakpo. In the minutes he was on the field, Isak headed straight into the position of goalkeeper Matvei Safonov, before missing an opportunity created by Ryan Gravenberch.
When Mohamed Salah was brought on to replace Hugo Ekitike who was injured, Arne Slot also did not show any tactical breakthroughs. This was also Salah's last match in the Champions League in Liverpool colors, unfortunately he and his teammates could not create a miracle like in 2019. The Egyptian striker created 4 chances but lost the ball 22 times.
Rio Ngumoha was brought on late, but this young striker left some highlights. With the attack being too weak, the 17-year-old young talent is likely to start this weekend.
Losing 4 goals after 2 legs does not accurately reflect the nature of the second leg, but it shows that Liverpool's level gap at this time is far behind the group of teams competing for the Champions League title such as PSG or Bayern Munich. PSG no longer defeated them in the penalty shootout like last season, this time it was a convincing victory in official playing time.
Whether to win a Champions League ticket next season will completely determine Arne Slot's future, this is the ultimatum from the American owners. Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah have said goodbye and Federico Chiesa is also likely to be preparing. Besides, the future of Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Curtis Jones is still uncertain, signaling a very large personnel reshuffle this summer.
Although Liverpool is unlikely to make much profit from selling players this summer, they really need abundant financial resources from competing with top European teams to pay for the next reconstruction phase.
The defeat to PSG at Anfield still left some positive highlights, but Arne Slot's Liverpool also showed many shortcomings. Winning a Champions League spot has always been a minimum requirement and now, it is all that can be saved after a season full of mistakes.
