Paris Saint Germain's Qatari president Nasser al-Khelaifi reacts following the UEFA Champions League quarter final, second-leg football match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on April 14, 2026. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images)placeholder image
Paris Saint Germain's Qatari president Nasser al-Khelaifi reacts following the UEFA Champions League quarter final, second-leg football match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on April 14, 2026. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
PSG earned a 4-0 aggregate victory over Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-finals.
PSG earned a 2-0 win over the Reds in the quarter-final second leg at Anfield, ensuring they won the tie 4-0 on aggregate. The game took place one day before the 37th anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy, in which 97 Liverpool supporters were unlawfully killed in the disaster that occurred at the FA Cup semi-final between the Reds and Nottingham Forest on April 15, 1989.
Ahead of kick-off, a period of silence was observed and players wore black armbands. On the eve of the game, PSG staff and players paid tribute to the victims of the disaster as well as to former Liverpool striker Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva, who died in a car accident last summer.
Al-Khelaifi also spared a thought for Hugo Ekitike after the Reds centre-forward - who played for PSG earlier in his career - was stretchered off with a suspected Achilles injury in the first half of the game.
Speaking to CBS Sports, Al-Khelaifi said: “Before we talk about the match, we are really thinking about the 97 people who lost their lives at football. That is something much bigger than any football and sports. All of our thoughts are with their family.
“We are also thinking of our ex-player Ekiitke. I hope his injury is not too bad.
“I am very proud and very happy with the result and the qualification. To come here at Anfield, full respect to the amazing fans here. To beat them 2-0 again ,that's an amazing achievement but we need to be humble and down to earth thinking about the next step, the next match. We should not go over the moon, also, but should be very happy.”
PSG are the current Champions League holders, winning the competition for the first time last season and are arguably favourites to win back-to-back crowns.
The Parisians changed their model from splashing out mega-money on superstars such as Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
“We tried everything in the past 13-15 years,” added Al-Khelaifi. “Three years ago, with Luis Enrique and the new project, we are trying to build something with a very young team. That is what we tried.
“Of course, results are really important but the most important for us was how we played football, to have a team not players only. The star is the team, there are no stars in our team. Even today, we have the Ballon d’Or [winner], our players are huge but the biggest star is the team.
“They work for each other, the team, the club, the logo. We can probably have the best players in the world last year and this year but they work together as a team. Your fault is my fault, they run together, that is the mentality we want to have. We have the best coach in the world, he is an amazing coach, person and motivator.”
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