Liverpool have been on the other side of this kind of a result in Europe before, most memorably in their most recent Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid.
A game in which they’re dominant but fail to convert their best chances early and, as the game goes on, fall back on increasingly low value long shots. Then, when the opportunity comes, their opponent converts.
As good as it feels to steal a game where by the numbers they perhaps shouldn’t, though, the tie isn’t over. Their lead is slim. And they know that they will need to be better to keep their edge in the return leg.
“We knew PSG are a great team, one of the best in Europe,” centre half Ibrahima Konaté reflected following the 1-0 victory. “We knew today they would have the ball more than us.
“We knew this already. And we knew this game would be about details. So at the end, we go with a 1-0 and this is great. But we have to be aware and focus now at home because we know they have a lot of quality.”
The narrative following the match has focused on Paris Saint-Germain dominance, and that’s not entirely wrong. In the first half in particular the French side were the better side.
For all that PSG still held the ball and peppered shots at and around Liverpool’s goal in the second half, though, it’s perhaps telling Harvey Elliot’s well taken and decisive goal was the highest xG opportunity after the break.
Liverpool might not have been playing the free flowing football manager Arne Slot and the players and fans would prefer, and their passing remained worryingly off, but they adjusted and defended well.
On the road, in a hostile environment, realising they were struggling to play their natural game, they did what they did recently in a 2-0 victory over Manchester City and sought to control the game without the ball.
“Sometimes in the Champions League it’s like that,” Konaté added. “We saw a great team. Sometimes the opponent dominates the game, but at the end we just remember who won.
“Today we suffered a little but we had to accept it to make the effort all together. We ran until the end, that’s why we scored. So first we focus on the game [against Southampton], and then the game at home.”