PSG players were left in disbelief at the poor standard of football Liverpool produced in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 clash, with Arsenal and one other club deemed much tougher opponents to face.
The leaders of the Premier League and Ligue 1 squared off last week, with Liverpool travelling to Paris for a hotly-anticipated clash with PSG. But rather than an evenly-contested back-and-forth encounter most expected, the match was rather one-sided.
PSG launched attack after attack and created chance after chance, ultimately taking 27 shots of which 10 were on target.
Luis Enrique’s side also dominated the possession stakes with a 70/30 split and won 56 duels compared to Liverpool’s 27.
However, an inspired goalkeeping display from Alisson Becker saved Liverpool’s skin, with the Brazilian once again proving why he’s considered world football’s premier stopper.
What’s more, a late Harvey Elliott strike rubbed salt in PSG’s wounds, with Liverpool now taking a one-goal advantage back to Anfield for the second leg.
But according to a fresh update fromL’Equipe, PSG are overwhelmingly confident they’ll overturn the deficit and dump Liverpool out of the UCL on their own soil.
It’s claimed PSG stars were shocked at how poor Liverpool performed in Paris, with their lack of quality leaving players pleasantly surprised.
What’s more, the club’s focus is already said to be on the second leg even though PSG face Rennes in a Ligue 1 encounter on Saturday evening.
Per the report, beating Liverpool is now an ‘obsession’ within the club and PSG are ‘even more confident’ they’ll get the better of Liverpool after the Reds’ poor showing last week.
Arsenal and one other tougher than Liverpool – report
It’s fair to say Liverpool did not live up their billing in Paris. Nonetheless, as has become customary since Arne Slot took charge, Liverpool found a way to pick up a positive result.
A much-improved display is a must for the second leg and Slot must find a way of restricting the service into Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele who all caused nightmares for Liverpool’s defenders on the night.
And per L’Equipe, Liverpool should look no further than domestic rivals Arsenal with regards to making life more difficult for PSG.
It’s claimed the Gunners as well as Bayern Munich – both of whom PSG lost to in the group phase – produced tougher challenges than the Reds. Per the report, Liverpool did not do enough to stop PSG’s stars from feeling at ease throughout the contest.
Speaking after the first leg, PSG boss Enrique was bullish ahead of the return fixture.
“My feelings right now…it’s difficult to think about the match in a positive way because I think we deserved to win, clearly. We created a lot of chances,” the Spaniard told TNT Sports after the game.
“I think it’s one of the best matches that we did in the Champions League this season.
“When you think that the best player of Liverpool was their goalkeeper, Alisson, football is many times unfair and we have to accept that. But, we are ready to [go to] Liverpool!
“We don’t have anything to lose. I think we’ve overcome Liverpool. Liverpool is the best team in Europe and today they almost create one or two chances maximum and we created a lot. I feel proud of my players, my team, of the supporters.”
Asked if they could win at Anfield, Enrique added: “Of course! We are going to do it!”
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