Somehow, just somehow, Liverpool managed to escape Parc des Princes with the advantage going into the second leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie after Harvey Elliott’s 87th-minute strike split the two sides on Wednesday night.
In truth, Arne Slot’s men struggled to create in front of goal – as evidenced by their solitary shot on target, which went in – and they had Alisson Becker to thank for his sturdy performance between the sticks as he made a total of nine saves.
Harvey Elliott celebrating after scoring against PSG in the UEFA Champions League Related
Paris Saint-Germain 0-1 Liverpool: Player Ratings and Match Highlights
Liverpool scraped past PSG 1-0 thanks to a late goal from Harvey Elliott in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday evening.
Diogo Jota was trusted as the Dutchman’s sole centre forward in the French capital – but the Portuguese struggled to pull up trees against Marquinhos and Willian Pacho. The introduction of Darwin Nunez, however, changed their fortunes.
The Uruguay international, 25, has had to wait patiently for opportunities under Slot since the manager’s arrival in the summer, and he’s now given the ex-Feyenoord chief a selection headache for their upcoming encounter with Southampton.
Nunez Offers Slot Selection Headache
The Uruguayan made the difference vs a high-flying PSG
Just moments after entering the field of play, in favour of the typically enigmatic Mohamed Salah, Elliott’s shot beat the soft hand of Gianluigi Donnarumma as Liverpool ran out victorious in a game that should’ve been wrapped up in the first half.
Paris Saint-Germain were the much brighter side throughout, but it took a moment of brilliance – and patience – from Nunez to create their only goalscoring opportunity of the match. Pumped long by Alisson, an under-pressure Nunez controlled it well.
He then spotted Elliott on the outside, slotted him in and, well, the rest could be history as PSG outscored the Reds in almost every metric apart from what ultimately matters the most: the scoreline.
From a personal perspective, Nunez played just 23 minutes but had much more of a tangible impact than his teammate Jota, who won just three of his 12 duels. Nunez, however, won two of his six as he created a litany of chaos.
While the Artigas-born ace, one of the Premier League's highest-paid strikers, is not accustomed to scoring bucketloads of strikes, what he does bring to the table is pandemonium – and that often turns half-chances into serious goalscoring opportunities.
In his short but sweet cameo, 50% (3/6) of his passes were accurate; a rate that may not exceed that of Jota (78.6%; 11/14), but the fact that one of his passes resulted in the only goal of the game suggests that he was more effective.
Jota_Nunez
As things stand, there is an air of uncertainty over the former Benfica talisman’s future on Merseyside. His contract expires in the summer of 2028, but there is every chance that Slot and his entourage will offload him and his £140,000-per-week wages.
Liverpool Fans React to Nunez’s 23-Minute Display
'Oh look, Darwin Nunez is making a huge difference at the elite level once again'
While the Anfield faithful are typically divided over what the future should hold for the 33-cap, 13-goal Uruguay international, they were all in agreement in the aftermath of Liverpool’s all-crucial 1-0 victory over the French juggernauts.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter) to wax poetic about the 1999-born ace, one fan said: “Oh look, Darwin Nunez is making a huge difference at the elite level once again. Silly to doubt him and his qualities. He guarantees output."
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Another suggested that Jota’s luck is slowly, but surely, running out and that Nunez’s knack of being a relentless menace should see him become Slot’s primary choice at centre-forward in their impending matches.
I still see no reason why Jota starts over him. He might lose chances but he never gives defenders breathing space. My Agent of Chaos.
An indecisive figure among the Anfield faithful, Nunez's wastefulness has irked supporters to an extent - but one supporter suggested that shouldn't come into play when weighing up a selection debate between Nunez and Jota.
Nunez vs Jota - 24/25 Premier League Statistics
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They wrote: “I don’t care how much anybody hates Darwin Nunez for how wasteful he is. Diogo Jota should never play above that man for absolutely any reason because of the ability like that.”, while another commented: “There’s no reason for Jota to start over Darwin.”
Liverpool are looking to win silverware in Slot's maide campaign and, as a result, a final fan believes Nunez should be trusted as their starting striker. They wrote: “Darwin Nunez changed the game. Jota should be coming off the bench, Nunez should always start!”
All statistics per Sofascore and WhoScored - correct as of 06/03/25