It was a gallant effort from Liverpool but in the end another case of not being good enough to beat Paris Saint-Germain, which will lead to questions being asked.
Liverpool 0-2 PSG (0-4 agg)
Champions League Quarter-Final Second Leg | Anfield
April 14, 2026
Goals: Dembele 72, 90+1′
No game-changers
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Tuesday, April 14, 2026: Liverpool's players line-up for a team group photograph before the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg match between Liverpool FC and Paris Saint-Germain FC at Anfield. Back row (L-R) goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, Hugo Ekitike, captain Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai. Front row (L-R): Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Alexis Mac Allister, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
It’s often been the case with Liverpool that you feel anything is possible on a European night at Anfield.
It was famously against Barcelona with an even bigger hill to climb than this one. The players, the team and the atmosphere combined, it felt like they could overturn any deficit.
While there was still hope ahead of this game, and there needed to be expectation for everyone to go into it with the right mindset, it was more difficult to see where a turnaround would come from.
Which player? How would the system facilitate it? There hasn’t been much evidence of such a comeback being possible, and no sign as to which player or players in the current squad could lead one.
The play just isn’t convincing enough. A poor touch here and an under-hit pass there summed up a night where the final ball was always lacking.
There was plenty of effort on this occasion, and moments in the second half where PSG were rattled, but in the end just not enough quality to overcome a team as good as this one from the French capital that look like they could retain the trophy.
Anfield tried
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Tuesday, April 14, 2026: Liverpool's supporters banner "You'll Never Walk Alone" with the names of the 97 Liverpool supporters who passed away at the Hillsborough Stadium disaster 37 years ago during "You'll Never Walk Alone" before the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg match between Liverpool FC and Paris Saint-Germain FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
From the moment captain Virgil van Dijk approached the Kop towards the end of the pre-match warmup, there was that familiar big-game feeling around Anfield.
The fans were determined to make sure it wasn’t the last such occasion of the season, in a campaign in which there has been little to shout about or for.
Arne Slot himself was more animated than usual on the touchline, bouncing around his technical area to encourage his players to push up and press in certain moments.
This wasn’t just a big buildup that faded as the game wore on. If anything, it got more raucous in the second half around the hour mark, and you have to say the atmosphere played a part in the referee almost giving a penalty that wasn’t.
Anfield tried, the team tried, but they had given themselves too much to do in that disappointing first leg, and it wasn’t enough.
Right decision to drop Salah?
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Tuesday, April 14, 2026: Liverpool's substitute Mohamed Salah on the bench before the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg match between Liverpool FC and Paris Saint-Germain FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Leaving one of the greatest players in the club’s history on the bench for the biggest game of the season was certainly a bold call from Slot.
There was some sense to the thinking behind it. It meant Liverpool had genuine options on the bench, and the use of Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak in the same XI gave Liverpool something to aim for up top and a potential source of early goals.
In the end, Salah was needed earlier than expected when Ekitike picked up what looked like an Achilles tendon injury, and there were clearly worries on the pitch in the immediate aftermath that it would keep him out of the World Cup.
Despite coming on with some time left in the first half, Salah’s impact was really felt in the second. One particular ball over to Milos Kerkez set up one of the best chances of the game.
Rio Ngumoha also made an impact, which begs the question whether it would have been better for these players to have more time to try to be the game-changers Liverpool were missing on the night.
Attention turns to the league
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Tuesday, April 14, 2026: Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai engages with the Anfield crowd during the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg match between Liverpool FC and Paris Saint-Germain FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
The task now is to make sure the club is here again next season. That they are in a position where there is a place in the latter stages of the Champions League at stake.
At the moment, that is not guaranteed. Even though the top five teams in the Premier League will qualify for next season’s competition, it looks like one of Chelsea or Liverpool will miss out and finish sixth.
It’s a pretty underwhelming end to the season that such a status is still not guaranteed, and that this is the only thing the club is now competing for as we head into May.
It’s nevertheless important for the future of the club, not least in terms of attracting players and having the Champions League income to provide some of the funds to buy them in the first place.
It’s not an easy run-in, either, with games against rivals Everton and Man United, and one against Chelsea themselves which the west London side will fancy as their chance to secure that fifth place spot.
Questions of Slot will increase
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Tuesday, April 14, 2026: Liverpool's head coach Arne Slot (R) and first assistant coach Sipke Hulshoff react to VAR sending referee Maurizio Mariani to the monitor for a penalty check during the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg match between Liverpool FC and Paris Saint-Germain FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
With this situation in mind – Liverpool out of all competitions and still not guaranteed a place in next season’s Champions League – questions around Slot’s future and suitability to lead this team will only increase.
On a blustery, wet night at Anfield, Liverpool’s damp squib of a season petered out.
It feels like the team has not been given the best chance of succeeding, whether that’s the system used, the decisions on squad rotation or an apparent inability to maintain a level of intensity seen in previous seasons.
On top of that, the football has not been particularly entertaining.
There are times when a team loses but you recognise the plan, and can enjoy watching them try to put it into action even if they eventually come up short, but there is no such inspiration or promise to take from this season’s displays.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Tuesday, April 14, 2026: Liverpool's head coach Arne Slot reacts during the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg match between Liverpool FC and Paris Saint-Germain FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Maybe it’s a transition year, or the fault of those building the team in the backroom, but the best teams are always in transition anyway, so there’s no real excuse there.
And rather than being a small drop-off, Liverpool have gone from being one of the best teams in the Premier League, and in Europe, to being a fairly average one at Europa League rather than Champions League level, as the table indicates.
Those in charge at the club may decide all of this isn’t the fault of Slot and give him another chance to turn it around next season, but as manager he will naturally be the one under the most pressure after what was in isolation another disappointing defeat.