Alisson making a save during PSG vs Liverpool
Alisson produced save after save to keep Paris Saint-Germain at bay
Muhammad Ali against George Foreman and now Liverpool against PSG. Two almighty rope-a-dope performances.
The Greatest famously lay on the ropes to tire his foe out before delivering the knockout blow to become king of the heavyweight division again in 1974. Super-sub Harvey Elliott’s 87th-minute strike may not be the KO punch here with a second leg to come at Anfield.
But PSG will feel like they have been shaken to their boots with a huge right hand after they couldn’t land a telling blow despite having the Reds reeling on the back foot for so long in an epic Champions League scrap.
[
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Ali had his head movement and chin to thank for keeping Foreman at bay before finishing him in the eighth, Liverpool had the man they also call Ali to ensure they remained on their feet in this last-16 tie.
Alisson Becker delivered one of the best goalkeeping displays you’ll see to fend off the brilliant combination of Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for the Ligue 1 giants.
Boss Luis Enrique had called Liverpool’s front line “fighter jets” before the game but it seemed all planes had been grounded for the Reds until Elliott popped up.
The Liverpool substitute appeared in the 86th minute and 47 seconds later, with his first touch, he found the net with a low strike. It was fellow sub Darwin Nunez who found Elliott out wide. Arne Slot’s changes made the difference.
Alisson celebrating after Liverpool's win away to Paris Saint-Germain
Alisson kept Liverpool in the game with a number of big saves
Yet PSG and Enrique will wonder how it came to this. Chance after chance saved but nobody had pulled the Reds apart like this in this campaign which sees them running away with the Premier League title race.
This is a youthful PSG outfit with attacking verve and no longer hamstrung by the big names and big egos that never delivered Europe’s top prize for them.
If they can’t turn this tie around at Anfield, then surely their time will come another year. They dominated for so long with some exhilarating attacking play.
If Liverpool are to progress to the quarter-finals of this season’s Champions then make no mistake it will be down to Alisson. L’Equipe dubbed it “The Battle”. The stage was set. Parc des Princes was electric.
It was this city where Liverpool lost the Champions League final in 2022 against Real Madrid.
That night it was Real who survived thanks to their brilliant goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Roles were reversed here against another European heavyweight.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia saw a first-half goal disallowed for offside
Dembele was brilliant. He broke away down the right with a nutmeg and a speedy run before he crossed for Joao Neves, who fired into the ground and just over.
Kvaratskhelia curled a lovely shot past Alisson but he was offside by the size of his calf.
Liverpool can count themselves lucky that Ibrahima Konate stayed on the pitch when he barged into Barcola but he survived a VAR check for a red card.
Kvaratskhelia, the January signing from Napoli, forced Alisson into a good save from distance and then a stunning one after his fleet-footedness saw him weave through red shirts before getting his shot off.
In between that, Alisson denied Dembele one on one which sparked a scramble in the box that ended with Barcola shooting over. Kvaratskhelia tested Alisson again after the restart with a fierce free-kick from the edge of the area.
As the clock ticked past the hour mark, PSG had 71 per cent possession. It felt like more. Alisson pulled off yet another fine save to deny substitute Desire Doue with 10 minutes to go.
Then up popped Elliott to floor PSG after Liverpool had previously been so poor in attack.
Unlike Foreman, the French side can pick themselves up off the canvas for the second leg next week but this battle feels like it is Liverpool’s to lose now.
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