Alisson had rarely been mentioned in the story of Liverpool’s old guard rediscovering peak form and propelling Arne Slot’s team towards glory this season. One night in Paris changed that. The Liverpool goalkeeper gave the performance of a lifetime, by his own admission, to ensure Paris Saint-Germain’s dominance came to nothing. Harvey Elliott applied the écraser et attraper. That’s smash and grab, to you and me.
Liverpool could have been buried in the first half of the first leg alone. Luis Enrique’s young, fast and vibrant team squandered several clear chances and bemoaned the decision not to dismiss Ibrahima Konaté for denying Bradley Barcola a clear goalscoring opportunity. Even Slot admitted that was a close call.
But Alisson stood tall throughout. The 32-year-old has been well protected by his defence this season. Not here. How Liverpool needed their world-class keeper, the man whose late save against Napoli kept Jürgen Klopp’s team on course to become European champions in 2019.
Alisson produced nine saves to drive PSG to despair, a record for a Liverpool goalkeeper in a Champions League fixture and the most the Brazil international has made in any game for the club. He was even involved in the grand larceny of Elliott’s late winner, struck 47 seconds after the substitute had entered the pitch. Alisson’s long ball was gathered well by another impressive substitute, Darwin Núñez, who laid the ball into the path of Elliott to strike a clinical finish past Gianluigi Donnarumma. It was the only time the PSG crowd fell silent all night. A goalless draw would have felt scant reward for their team’s efforts.
Parc des Princes provided a spectacular backdrop to the meeting of the free-scoring French champions and runaway Premier League leaders. The home crowd were in fine voice long before the teams entered a cauldron of noise and pyrotechnics. After the fire came the fury for PSG of two big calls going against them in the first half, laced with widespread disbelief at the absence of a comprehensive lead. Alisson, semi-automated VAR and PSG profligacy were the reasons why.
Liverpool were dominated for almost the entirety of the opening period as Luis Enrique’s team dictated play and stretched the visiting defence time and again. Slot had predicted PSG’s front three of Barcola, Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia would pose a similar test to Manchester City with their speed and movement. Unlike the recent win at the Etihad Stadium, however, his team struggled in its collective attempts to contain them. Nor did Liverpool combine containment with a cutting edge. Donnarumma was a virtual spectator in the PSG goal throughout a first half in which Liverpool had no attempts on target. His opposite number was overworked by comparison but produced an unforgettable shift.
PSG went man-to-man in midfield with Vitinha sitting deep on Dominik Szoboszlai, Fabián Ruiz denying Ryan Gravenberch space to break the lines and João Neves stifling Alexis Mac Allister’s influence. They spent more time toying with Liverpool in possession.
Neves should have opened the scoring when Dembélé turned on the afterburners to leave Andy Robinson and Mac Allister in his rearview mirror. The revitalised forward picked out the unmarked Neves from the byline but the midfielder scuffed his shot into the ground and over.
Alisson makes one of a number of saves that earned him the player of the match award. Photograph: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters
Another brilliant run from Dembélé resulted in a corner when his shot looped off Virgil van Dijk and over Alisson. The Liverpool keeper clawed away the set piece only for Neves to pick out Kvaratskhelia on the right of the penalty area. The January signing from Napoli curled an exquisite finish inside Alisson’s far corner. It was a fabulous finish, but disallowed for a tight offside against the goalscorer’s calf.
skip past newsletter promotion
Sign up to Football Daily
Kick off your evenings with the Guardian’s take on the world of football
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
after newsletter promotion
The PSG crowd were incensed, and their grievance deepened when Barcola was nudged over by Konaté as he ran through on to Willian Pacho’s long ball out of defence. Contact occurred outside the area but VAR checked a possible red-card offence by Konaté. It eventually stuck with the on-field referee’s decision not to penalise Liverpool’s last man.
The let-offs did not spark a reaction from Liverpool. The visitors remained encamped on the back foot, struggling to match PSG’s sharpness on the ball or energy off it. Alisson denied Dembélé with an outstretched foot when he was played through by Barcola’s cute ball. He then made a superb reaction save, adjusting his feet and getting down low to his left to tip away a Kvaratskhelia effort that was destined for the bottom corner.
Slot’s half-time instructions did little to turn the tide either. Waves of PSG attacks kept coming. Alisson kept repelling them, the Brazil international making another vital intervention when the mesmerising Kvaratskhelia swept a free-kick from 25 yards towards the far corner.
Liverpool managed to restrict PSG to shots from distance in the closing stages but Désiré Doué almost punctured their resistance. The substitute’s strike arced towards the far corner only for the Brazilian to brilliantly thwart PSG with his fingertips yet again. He also scooped away a Dembélé attempt before delivering one final blow to the disbelieving French champions with his part in Elliott’s winner. Anfield awaits the return with bated breath.
