Jamie Carragher was in disbelief after watching what he felt was a 'robbery' at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night. Liverpool allowed Paris Saint-Germain to take 27 shots on goal but still managed to win the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, despite managing only two attempts themselves.
One of them was the decisive blow, from substitute Harvey Elliott in the 87th minute. But the true hero of the night was Reds goalkeeper Alisson, who kept a miraculous clean sheet as the home fans were left without a goal to celebrate despite 10 of the Parisians attempts finding the target.
The Brazilian's performance set former Reds defender Carragher off after the final whistle. "That’s one of the biggest robberies you’ll ever see in football," he told CBS Sports. "I can’t believe what I’ve just seen.
"PSG were absolutely outstanding, they battered Liverpool. The last time Liverpool won this competition, the goalkeeper Alisson made a save against Napoli in the last group game… Liverpool could have gone out if Napoli scored. That’s always looked back on as a defining moment.
"That wasn’t a save tonight. That was arguably the greatest performance of his career - certainly in a Liverpool shirt. If Liverpool go on to win this competition, which they have a great chance of doing, that performance will be remembered for years to come."
PSG terrorised Liverpool in the first half with Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia all causing problems. Kvaratskhelia even had the ball in the net midway through the first period, but it was chalked off for a marginal offside.
Another wave of pressure followed after the break as Alisson denied a barrage of shots from distance. Subs Darwin Nunez and Elliott then combined to leave PSG shell-shocked, and chasing a deficit heading into the return leg at Anfield.
Although Elliott produced an excellent finish less than a minute after replacing Mohamed Salah, Liverpool boss Arne Slot was right with Carragher in directing his strongest praise towards the man between the posts.
He told TNT Sports: "I don't think there is a goalkeeper that played at this level, which is normal because he's the best in the world. I have some very good players as a manager, but never had the best goalkeeper in the world. And that I think he is, he showed that today."