Sport
Liverpool cannot afford to be complacent against PSG
Paris Saint-Germain have already faced Premier League opposition in the Champions League this season. Indeed, Luis Enrique’s team came up against Arsenal in early October and were easily swept aside as the Gunners ran out 2-0 winners. At that point, PSG looked to be a long way from being genuine European contenders.
A lot has changed since then, though. PSG have turned a corner and now look to be among the strongest sides in the knockout rounds of this season’s Champions League. The second time they came up against English opposition in the competition this season, they thumped Manchester City 4-2. That’s the team Liverpool will face on Wednesday.
PSG enter Wednesday’s Champions League last 16 tie on a run of 19 wins from their last 20 games in all competitions. They have scored an incredible 17 goals in their last four outings and have finally found their groove under Lucho. They could be the team to avoid in the latter rounds of the Champions League.
Ousmane Dembele has been a player transformed over the course of this run. Previously criticised for a lack of cutting edge and consistency, the French international has found the back of the net no fewer than 18 times in his last 13 appearances. Dembele has become the most prolific finisher anywhere in Europe.
This is in no small part due to the position he is playing in the PSG forward line, most frequently deployed through the middle. Of course, Dembele doesn’t have the skill set of a traditional number nine, but his ability to drop deep and join attacks with his pace and directness has given PSG a different dimension centrally.
Bradley Barcola has also made a big step forward in his development. The 22-year-old has registered six goal involvements in this season’s Champions League and has shown signs of a growing partnership with Dembele who likes to drift out to the left side to combine with Barcola on the wing.
On the other wing, Desire Doue has been deployed, but Khvicha Kvaratskhelia might occupy that position against Liverpool on Wednesday. The Georgian attacker is capable of switching position with Barcola over the course of the match, something that might unsettle the Liverpool defensive line.
Joao Neves will also look to control the game in central midfield. Signed from Benfica last summer, the Portuguese international has been hailed by Lucho as one of the best midfield pace-setters in the world and his recent performances for PSG justify this praise. There are few midfielders on Neves’ level right now.
Lucho also has Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz and Warren Zaire-Emery to choose from to make up the rest of his midfield unit. Liverpool have their own strength in the centre of the pitch, but they will face a midfield unit that can more than holds its own against the runaway Premier League leaders. This will be a key battle that decides the game.
After the Kylian Mbappe era, PSG needed a new vision. They needed an identity and a new framework to build around. It took some time for Lucho to put this in place, but PSG are now a totally different team to the one that started the 2024/25 season. The pieces have fallen into place for them over the last two months.
Ultimately, Liverpool might still have the quality to make the Champions League quarter-finals. Arne Slot’s team are formidable in their own right. Their place in the Premier League proves this. PSG, however, are on an upward trajectory and might finally be the European force their Qatari owners have always wanted them to be.
