Liverpool have been knocked out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage after being beaten on penalties by Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.
Liverpool withstood an onslaught in Paris to emerge unlikely 1-0 winners in the first leg, but their slender advantage didn’t last long in the second leg.
Ousmane Dembele struck from close range in the 12th minute, putting the Champions League tie on a knife edge.
Neither Liverpool nor PSG could find another goal in normal time, and even extra time didn’t yield any more goals.
The game went to penalties, and the visitors triumphed with relative ease as Gianluigi Donnarumma kept out Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones.
Mohamed Salah had a difficult evening in the first leg and things didn’t exactly get better for him in the second leg, except for his successful penalty.
A number of French media outlets gave their verdicts on the Liverpool star’s performance against PSG at Anfield.
Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
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Three French outlets give Mohamed Salah less than 5 out of 10
Footmercato gave Salah a 4 out of 10 for his efforts on the night.
“Highly anticipated after his ordeal in the first leg, the Egyptian started his match very strongly,” they wrote.
“Overall, all the opportunities were created on his side in the first half, but he often came up against an excellent Nuno Mendes, intractable in the wing.
“In the second half, he came close to bringing the Reds back to level, (Khvicha) Kvaratskhelia miraculously saving his half-volley from a corner (62nd).
“But [he] gradually fell back into his bad habits of the first leg, committing a lot (too many) technical inaccuracies and weighing very little in the Reds’ push at the end of the match.”
Meanwhile, Homme du Match went with a mere 4 out of 10 for the Egypt international.
“A fiery first quarter of an hour before being extinguished by (Nuno) Mendes,” they began.
“From the start, he was ideally served by Mac Allister and curled his ball to the far post, blocked near the line by Mendes.
“A few moments later, following a solo raid, he saw his attempt grazed the far corner.
“Subsequently, the Egyptian suffered in the face of Mendes’ constant pressure and activity.
“In the second half, while he had some good balls to negotiate, he lacked the creativity to truly worry the PSG rear-guard.”
Finally, Maxifoot went with a 4.5 out of 10 for Salah at the end of the match.
“Well controlled in the first leg (1-0), the Liverpool winger had another mixed evening against Paris Saint-Germain,” they wrote.
“However, early in the game, the Egyptian was dangerous with a shot saved by Mendes and then a shot off target.
“But thereafter, he was not very sharp and was especially well caught by Mendes in the first half.
“After the break, the Pharaoh was more inspired, but was checked by a volley by Kvaratskhelia.
“It should be noted that he managed to score his (penalty) shot.”
How Mohamed Salah fared against PSG
Salah has been sensational for Liverpool this season, registering a staggering 32 goals and 22 assists in all competitions, but he struggled once again when up against PSG.
Nuno Mendes had the better of Salah for most of the match, with the Egypt international only managing one shot on target. He was also dispossessed 31 times in the game.
Mohamed Salah stats v PSG
Minutes played 120′
Goals 0
Assists 0
Touches 84
Accurate passes 40/54 (74%)
Key passes 2
Crosses (acc.) 5 (0)
Long balls (acc.) 0 (0)
Shots on target 1
Shots off target 2
Shots blocked 1
Dribble attempts (succ.) 6 (3)
Big chances missed 1
Ground duels (won) 12 (5)
Aerial duels (won) 2 (1)
Possession lost 31
A number of Liverpool fans felt Arne Slot was to blame for the penalty shootout defeat as he subbed off two great spot-kick takers in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
Despite the blow of being eliminated in the Champions League, Liverpool are still very much in the picture for the Premier League and one domestic cup.
The Reds are head and shoulders above the rest of the competition in the Premier League title race and they will contest the League Cup final this Sunday.