Liverpool’s UEFA Champions League hopes are hanging by a thread following a demoralising defeat to reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain — their 16th loss of the season.
Desire Doue’s deflected strike looped over the head of Giorgi Mamardashvili to hand the Ligue 1 leaders the lead, before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia doubled their advantage with a moment of brilliance.
The result leaves the Reds with a daunting task ahead of the quarter-final second leg at Anfield next Tuesday, having failed to register a single shot on target in the first encounter.
Still reeling from a four-goal thrashing by Manchester City in their previous outing, Liverpool appeared to adopt a damage-limitation approach, lining up with a five-man defence in Paris.
However, PSG asserted control early, taking the lead in the 11th minute and dominating proceedings throughout, exposing another disjointed performance from Arne Slot’s side that raised further concerns.
Mamardashvili, deputising for injured first-choice Alisson Becker, was beaten by 20-year-old Doue’s effort from just inside the box, which deflected off Virgil van Dijk and looped into the net.
The Georgian goalkeeper responded with several key saves to keep Liverpool in contention, including a superb one-handed stop to deny Kvaratskhelia, and another intervention to prevent Doue from adding a second.
But PSG eventually extended their lead when Kvaratskhelia produced a fine piece of skill to round the keeper after a defence-splitting pass from Joao Neves.
The hosts nearly made it three when Warren Zaire-Emery went down under a challenge from Ibrahima Konate, but the penalty was overturned following a VAR review.
Ousmane Dembele squandered several chances to extend PSG’s advantage, shooting straight at Mamardashvili, blazing over the bar, and later striking the woodwork after a late error by Jeremie Frimpong. Liverpool introduced Alexander Isak for his first appearance since December following injury, but they now face a formidable challenge to overturn PSG’s advantage in the return leg.
