James McConnell played his first game in over five months as Liverpool Under-21s visited PSG for a friendly on Friday, with Calvin Ramsay scoring in a 3-1 defeat.
Last summer, McConnell signed a new Reds deal until 2030 and also joined Ajax on loan, in order to aid his development under John Heitinga.
The 21-year-old’s spell with the Eredivisie giants didn’t go to plan, however – Heitinga was sacked in November, for starters – with only one start apiece coming his way in the league and the Champions League.
For that reason, McConnell returned to Liverpool midway through the campaign, and he has been absent through injury since December and undergoing minor surgery in the New Year.
That changed on Friday, however, with the midfielder making his first appearance for five months, playing for the U21s.
KIRKBY, ENGLAND - Sunday, September 21, 2025: Liverpool's substitute Calvin Ramsay during the Premier League 2 match between Liverpool FC Under-21's and Manchester United FC Under-21's at the Liverpool Academy. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Rob Page’s side made the trip to face Paris Saint-Germain’s youngsters in France, with McConnell named in the starting lineup.
It was Liverpool who took the lead through a quite emphatic finish from right-back Calvin Ramsay, as the 22-year-old continues to progress at this level.
Will Wright won and then missed a penalty, blowing an opportunity to give the Reds a 2-0 lead, which proved costly, as PSG’s class shone through.
For McConnell, it was a positive step in his recovery, though, and he will hope to feature more for the U21s this season.
“A lot of learnings” for Liverpool youngsters
Liverpool may have lost, but speaking to Liverpoolfc.com after the game, Page was still able to find plenty of positives.
“I was really pleased with aspects of the performance and we were up against a very good PSG team,” Page said.
“We went 1-0 through a brilliant solo goal by Rambo, a great finish that gave us a good start.”
Page added: “The lads defended really, really well – I can’t fault their attitude and application at all.
“We were up against a very, very good PSG team that played similar to their first team with a bit of fluidity and freedom from an attacking point of view.
“In the main we coped with it well, but the one moment we didn’t quite get right by allowing them to play through the middle of us resulted in a goal.
“But there are a lot of learnings to take for the lads and it was a great experience as well.
“It’s never a bad thing to play against top-class opposition and I think even in defeats you are learning all the time.
“So, we’ll review the game, we’ll feed it back to the players and that will help us become better.”
Liverpool U21s XI: Misciur; Ramsay, Pinnington, Nallo, Pitt; McConnell, Trueman, Laffey; Pilling, Sonni-Lambie, Wright