Paris Saint-Germain secured a spot in the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals after a dramatic 4-1 penalty win over Liverpool at Anfield, claiming their first-ever penalty shootout victory in European competition.
Despite a controversial first leg in Paris, where they were lucky to leave with a 1-0 lead, Arne Slot’s team entered the second leg with the advantage. However, Liverpool came out attacking early on, creating chances in the first 10 minutes. Nuno Mendes made an important block to deny Mohamed Salah, who also had another shot go wide after a powerful run.
Even with Liverpool’s early pressure, PSG struck back when Ousmane Dembélé equalised on aggregate. He played a key role in a clever move with Bradley Barcola, and after a lucky rebound off Ibrahima Konaté, Dembélé slotted the ball home. Konaté tried to make up for it with a long-range shot, but Gianluigi Donnarumma saved it. PSG continued to threaten, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s shot deflecting off Ryan Gravenberch and just missing the target.
After halftime, Liverpool came out stronger, with Dominik Szoboszlai’s effort ruled offside and Donnarumma making a brilliant save to stop Luis Díaz’s header. Liverpool’s set-pieces caused trouble again, with Kvaratskhelia clearing a close-range Salah shot off the line. Then, Jarell Quansah’s header from a free-kick hit the post, though it would’ve been offside anyway.
PSG found it hard to get into the game after the break, but Kvaratskhelia reminded Liverpool of his talent with a close-range shot that narrowly missed the bar. In extra time, PSG had two good chances to extend their lead, with Lucas Beraldo heading just wide and Désiré Doué also missing the target.
With the game tied, it went to penalties, and despite Liverpool’s strong record in shootouts, PSG came out on top. Donnarumma saved shots from Darwin Núñez and Curtis Jones, and Doué scored the winning penalty to send PSG into the quarter-finals, where they will face either Club Brugge or Aston Villa.
