Liverpool's Brazilian goalkeeper #01 Alisson (2L) punches the ball as he makes a save during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg football match between Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) and Liverpool (ENG) at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on March 5, 2025. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP)
Doha, Qatar: Liverpool's shot stopper Alisson Becker put on a performance for the ages as the English outfit edged Paris Saint German 0-1 at the Parc des Princes in the first leg of their heavyweight Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday.
Harvey Elliott scored with his first touch after coming on as a late substitute to give Liverpool an unlikely 1-0 win away to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their heavyweight Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday.
Elliott had just replaced Mohamed Salah when he fired in from a Darwin Nunez assist in the 87th minute at the Parc des Princes to hand the Premier League leaders the advantage ahead of next week's return leg.
It was the ultimate smash and grab act from Arne Slot's side, who up to that point had survived a pummelling from in-form PSG.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia had a first-half strike disallowed for a marginal offside and Alisson Becker made several crucial saves as the French league leaders had 28 attempts on goal to their visitors' two, with 65 percent of the posession over the course of the game going to PSG.
Salah had been almost completely anonymous as Liverpool looked set to fail to score in a game for just the fourth time all season, but now they will be confident of pressing home their advantage at Anfield.
If they emerge victorious, a quarter-final against Aston Villa or Club Brugge awaits, although PSG showed enough to suggest they will again be extremely dangerous in England.
Luis Enrique's team came into this game on a run of 10 straight victories and had scored 21 goals in their last five Champions League outings, including a 4-2 defeat of Manchester City in January.
This performance, however, was more like those at the start of their Champions League campaign, when they struggled to turn chances into goals in defeats against the likes of Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich.
January signing Kvaratskhelia had been selected instead of exciting teenage prospect Desire Doue, and the Georgian completed a fluid front three alongside Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele.
Liverpool, meanwhile, were without Cody Gakpo, so Diogo Jota came in for his first appearance in the Champions League since October 2.
The hotly anticipated clash between the runaway leaders of the English and French leagues had the potential to be Liverpool's toughest test this season, and that is how the game panned out for long spells.
PSG are no longer a team dominated by a couple of superstar forwards, but rather a voracious collective of dynamic, hard-working young players under the guidance of their intense Spanish coach.
