Vitinha
Vitinha has insisted PSG will beat Liverpool at Anfield
PSG star Vitinha insisted his side will beat Liverpool at Anfield to turn their Champions League last-16 tie around.
The Reds claimed the ultimate smash-and-grab win at the Parc des Princes in Wednesday's first leg. PSG had 70 percent of the possession and an astonishing 27 shots, making more than 600 passes.
Liverpool, meanwhile, had only 30 percent possession and just two attempts on target, while completing only 220 passes. An inspired performance from Alisson kept the game goalless until Harvey Elliott came off the bench to score the winner three minutes from time.
It means Liverpool will head into next Tuesday's second leg with a slender one-goal lead. But Vitinha is adamant Les Parisiens will turn the tie around by winning at Anfield, a feat the French giants have never achieved.
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“It’s tough to play a game like this, against a team like this, with one goalscoring opportunity, only one shot. We will show the team we are, we will show our character," he told Canal+.
“We’ll win there. With the match we played, the victory was more than deserved. Like at the start of the season, we had lots of opportunities, but we failed to score.”
Remarkably, Wednesday's loss was PSG's’ first defeat since 26 November, when they fell 1-0 away Bayern Munich in the league phase of the Champions League. They are hoping to get one better than last year, when they reached the semi-finals.
Will PSG produce a comeback? Give us your prediction in the comments section.
TOPSHOT - Paris Saint-Germain's Portuguese midfielder #17 Vitinha (C) is tackled by Liverpool's Argentine midfielder #10 Alexis Mac Allister (R) during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg football match between Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) and Liverpool (ENG) at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on March 5, 2025. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP) (Photo by ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP via Getty Images)
Vitinha starred for PSG as they dominated Liverpool but still fell to defeat in the first leg of their last-16 tie
Boss Luis Enrique echoed the thoughts of star Vitinha by backing his side to turn the tie around in the second leg. He insisted his side had delivered a good performance and had been 'far better' than Liverpool.
"It's difficult to talk about a game like that one. We completely dominated the match, against one of the best teams in Europe. We have to think about being positive and analyse the match tomorrow," Enrique lamented to Canal+.
"But I'm happy with the team's performance and we have to think about turning this result around. It's not the time to see things negatively. It's the time to be proud of our colours. Today, I think we showed that we can play against any opponent.
"We are going to do the same thing in the coming weeks. Their best player was the goalkeeper. We were far better than Liverpool. Far better! But they won that game. That’s very unfair.
“I don’t see any negative aspects. I’m very proud of my team, very proud of my players. There is a second leg to be played at Liverpool. We won’t give up.“
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