Liverpool may have a foot in the quarterfinals of the Champions League after last week's 1-0 win in Paris Saint-Germain, but the side of Arne Slot would make a big mistake if they were dealing with the Ligue 1-champions Anfield for the return meeting on Tuesday evening.
History is certainly against the Parisians when they travel to Merseyside this week. Of the 27 previous teams that lose the first stage at home in a knockout of Champions League, only three have been advanced.
In the meantime, Liverpool has extracted the first stage from home on the seven times, they have won the return change three times, pulled twice and lost twice.
However, PSG must be warned that even when the Reds lost the second stage in Anfield, they still succeeded in standing both times in the last 16 against Barcelona in 2006/07 and Inter Milan in 2021/22.
In fact, Liverpool has in fact won and eliminated the first stage of a Champions League Knock-Outdie, as happened when Gerard Houllier Bayer Leverkusen's side defeated in Anfield in the last eight in 2001/02, only to go out after a 4-2 loss in the Bayara.
Although the chances can resemble PSG that the quarterfinals spends – Skybet only gives them a 7/4 chance to win in Anfield – there are plenty of reasons to hope on the side of Luis Enrique.
The most in-shape team in Europe arrives on MerseSide
Arne Slot was exuberant in his praise from PSG for the first stage in the French capital and called them “one of the strongest teams in Europe”.
In fact, the Liverpool manager even went as far as suggesting the Parisians, instead of the Reds – who were the table at the top – actually the best side in the competition phase of the competition that preceded the knockouts, according to the “underlying statistics”.
While the Dutchman may exaggerate something to emphasize what a difficult draw, on his way to the first stage, PSG was the most in-form team in Europe, after he won 10 games in a row in all competitions from the end of January.
That included the demolition of Brest 10-0 on aggregated in the previous round, while he scored a continental high 40 goals in the process, 17 more than second place Barcelona.
Looking at their displays in the competition phase, when they finished the 15th after they had received the most difficult schedule of each party, their total figures were impressive.
For example, PSG completed a League-High 107 Dribbles, while they were in third place for touches in the opposition box (304) and fourth for both completed steps (4,639) and completed steps in half of the opposition (2,556).
In the meantime, they were arranged in fifth place for the total possession (59.44 percent) and their expected goals a total of 16.37 – they actually scored 14 goals – was the eighth best, all a backup of Slot's observation that the Ligue 1 champions should have actually ended much higher.
This was of course all worn in a first stage in which the hosts had unleashed 27 shots at the goal of Liverpool, the second most record (since 2003/04) by one side in a Champions League -Knock -out -out match in which they both scored and lost.
Not only that, but last Wednesday's loss was PSG's first defeat in a competition since 26 November and they arrive at Merseyside who did not score once this season in their 25 league trips, with even lock admitted that there was still enough to play for Tuesday in Anfield on Tuesday.
“If you look at the performance, PSG can take many positives against the game we will play in a week,” he said after the first stage. “We know that it will be a difficult one in a week.”
Good time to make tired red?
Liverpool, on the other hand, failed in the attack of recent times and before Saturday's difficult victory against soil-of-the-Table Southampton, they had no more than two scored in a match about their last seven, with a general average goals per game of 1.57 and an expected goals of only 1.22 per game on average.
That is a sign of fatigue and while the Reds at the weekend almost their entire XI from Paris from Paris Velden, Luis Enrique de Luxe had to rest almost all his starting line-up in their 4-1 romping at Rennes.
Can PSG dominate the fight in midfield again?
An area where PSG certainly got the Reds better last week – and on Tuesday will be important again at Anfield – was in midfield.
However, this will not have been a surprise for Slot and his coaching team, with even Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola who emphasizes this power of Parisians after the 4-2 loss of his side in the Parc des Princes in the competition format in January.
“PSG was better, they still had a midfield player with their false nine and it was hard to press him,” Guardiola said about how PSG likes to surpass their opponents in midfield.
In combination with their monster printing, including a man to man, they go all over the field – which forced Virgil van Dijk to start pumping the goal, kicking early last Wednesday instead of playing in the back as they normally do – then, as Slot recognized, PSG becomes almost impossible to stop.
“They press the man all over the field, which makes it difficult for many teams to have a lot of possession against them,” he said.
So expect that visitors will take on a similar tactic on Tuesday evening.
Will beautiful Mendes shine again?
A player in particular who attracted attention in the first meeting was PSG's plunder -looting full -back Nuno Mendes, who not only succeeded in keeping Liverpool's Ballon d'Ordededering -and perhaps the most in -form ahead in Europe -Mohamed Salah was the whole night in the link in the link in the link.
The Portugal International won the most duels (11), made the most tackles (8) and made the last third submissions (15) of each player on the Parc des Princes Pitch. His 16 -line breaks were only improved by Vitinha (21) and Marquinhos (20) in the night, while no Liverpool player dribbled past him throughout the game.
If Mendes repeats those figures on Tuesday, PSG will certainly have a big chance to continue to the last eight.
Luis Enrique and Co's Joie de Vivre makes them very dangerous
Luis Enrique had a sparkle in his eyes when he was asked if his side could beat Liverpool in Anfield on Tuesday, because they had to have a chance to continue to the last eight.
“We have nothing to lose and that makes us dangerous,” said the PSG boss. “We are ready for Liverpool. We are going to do it.”
His players have also taken over that tune, where Vitinha Canal+tells+: “We will show the team that we are, we will show our character. We will win there.”
Those words were reflected by teammate Douse Doue, who said: “We are convinced and convinced that we can let something special happen. We go to Anfield to win the game. We can do it”.
They are right, because the Parisians really have nothing to lose in Anfield, and with only the victory in the night expecting the visitors to follow a similar approach if what served them almost as well in the first stage last week.
All this makes them a very dangerous opponent, because Reds captain Van Dijk quickly designates to victory from his side.
“I think they are an excellent team, a fantastic team. You can see the working speed they have done,” he said.
“We clearly had a debrief about it after the game and you could see them, if they lost the ball, they all pressed together and all ran together.
“It is a great honor to the manager to bring in that work and in my opinion he made a world -class team out.
“It will be difficult on Tuesday and you will see it all. I think everyone who expected our game there before our game there would be a dominant achievement of us, I don't think they really watched PSG all season.
“We know that it will be just as heavy on Tuesday, perhaps even more difficult, because they have to come and win. It will be hard because they are a world -class team and they have already shown it against us.”
Luis Enrique and his players will comfort themselves with the conviction that Alisson, who made a record-similar nine saves in Paris, certainly not the player of the player of the game on Anfield on Anfield cannot repeat.
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