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Mamadou Sakho has sent PSG a warning over Anfield with the Frenchman having represented both clubs during his playing career.
After securing an improbable 1-0 victory in Paris last Wednesday, Liverpool now prepare to welcome Paris Saint-Germain to Anfield for what promises to be an electrifying Champions League Round of 16 second leg next Tuesday.
While the Reds hold a slender advantage, manager Arne Slot has emphasized that his team will need the full force of Anfield’s legendary atmosphere to complete the job against a wounded PSG side.
Liverpool’s approach in the second leg is likely to differ significantly from the first meeting. At Parc des Princes, the Premier League leaders were forced to adopt an uncharacteristically defensive stance, registering just two shots compared to PSG’s overwhelming 27 attempts.
“If you look at the result, we come away here really positive, but if you look at the performance then they are two different things,” admitted Slot. “I think PSG take a lot of positives towards the game we are going to play in a week.”
Despite the deficit, PSG coach Luis Enrique remains defiant about his team’s chances at Anfield. “We’ve got nothing to lose at Anfield. I’ve no doubt we can turn this around,” he stated after the first leg defeat.
Now Mamadou Sakho has weighed in on the second leg, warning that Liverpool power up when they are able to play in front of the Kop:
“Anfield is not a game. It’s special, it’s like a gladiatorial arena,” Sakho said to L’Equipe as quoted by GFFN.
“You have a Liverpool team there who, when they enter the field, are the equivalent of Popeye opening his can of spinach,” laughed the defender who represented Liverpool between 2013 and 2017.
“90 minutes there is something to remember. Whatever the scenario on the way back, Parisians will remember it.”
“They will realise how special this stadium is,” Sakho said.
“There are players like Marquinhos and Dembélé who have the ability to handle this type of match and this type of atmosphere and to look after the less experienced players.”
The last time PSG played at Anfield was on September 18, 2018.
On that occasion, Liverpool won 3-2 in a UEFA Champions League group stage match, with Roberto Firmino scoring a last gasp winner.
Since then, PSG has not played at Anfield, making their upcoming second leg match on March 11, 2025, their first visit to the stadium in over 6 years.
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