Liverpool came away from the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night wondering exactly how they’d beaten PSG.
The Reds were second best for much of the game, with the French champions strangling them into performing well below-par.
But for all their domination, PSG simply could not put the ball in the back of the net.
That was not for a wont of trying. The Parisians had 27 shots in total, with 10 good enough to hit the target.
Luckily for Liverpool, though, Alisson Becker was equal to everything. Alisson delivered possibly his best performance ever in Paris to ensure the Reds will take a 1-0 lead back to Anfield next week.
Alisson has been praised by Peter Schmeichel and plenty of others after the game. But watching on over in France, Brest manager Eric Roy has gone even further in his acclaim.
Photo by Franco Arland/Getty Images
Photo by Franco Arland/Getty Images
Liverpool told ‘Jesus was in goal’ against PSG
The longer Wednesday night’s game went on, the more it became apparant that Alisson simply wasn’t going to be beaten.
As PSG players began to shoot from further and further out, you could almost see the confidence sapping from them. It just wasn’t going to happen.
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Nevertheless, Luis Enrique’s men have still been bullish heading into next week’s second-leg. Midfielder Vitinha claimed PSG will win at Anfield, for example, and Enrique himself seems to believe so, too.
But according to Roy – who’s team were hammered 10-0 on aggregate by PSG in the Champions League play-off round – Harvey Elliott’s winning goal and Alisson’s supreme performance will act as a cruel blow to the French champions.
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“I don’t know if you can talk at length. You have to congratulate them and go back to the fight,” Roy told Le Parisien when asked what Enrique can say to his team. “They did it last year in Barcelona, right? There’s no choice.
“This job is cruel for coaches. You feel helpless. But the reality is efficiency. At the highest level, it’s realism in both areas that counts. Tonight, you crack once behind and all the way up front. Compared to the match, you can still tell yourself that it’s possible at Anfield. With an opposing goalkeeper who was a little less strong too. Tonight, it was Jesus…”
Alisson gives Liverpool advantage
Liverpool have every reason to be confident coming back to Anfield for the second-leg on Tuesday. However, they should also exercise a degree of caution.
They very much got away with one on Wednesday. If they allow themselves to be dominated in similar fashion next week, the same is unlikely to happen again.
Alisson is well-known to be a man of huge faith and he has certainly seemed to call upon something greater at times during his Liverpool career – and especially at the Parc des Princes.
But even the big Brazilian has his limits and the Reds must ensure they protect him better at Anfield.
Something was certainly on Liverpool’s side in Paris on Wednesday. Or perhaps Alisson is simply that good. The Holy Goalie indeed.