GOAL rates all of the Reds on show at the Parc des Princes as Arne Slot's side claimed the unlikeliest of 1-0 wins
Liverpool were played off the pitch at Parc des Princes on Wednesday, completely outclassed by a scintillating Paris Saint-Germain side – and yet the Reds will return to Anfield for the second leg of this Champions League last-16 tie with a 1-0 lead after the greatest smash-and-grab you're ever likely to see.
The hosts were magnificent from the first whistle, with Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola taking it in turns to torment Liverpool's back four, while Joao Neves, Fabian Ruiz and Vitinha absolutely ran the show in midfield. However, Alisson Becker just wasn't in the mood to be beaten, and as the brilliant Brazilian repelled one effort after another, the feeling began to grow that Liverpool might actually nick a win – and that's exactly what they did.
In the 87th-minute of an arguably even more one-sided first leg than Arsenal's 7-1 rout of PSV the night before, Darwin Nunez teed up fellow substitute Harvey Elliott for the unlikeliest of winners.
GOAL ranks all of the Reds on show in Paris as Arne Slot's side pulled off one of the greatest escapes in Champions League history…
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Alisson Becker (9.5/10):
Simply put, the game wouldn't have finished 1-0 if it hadn't been for the Brazil No.1, who made one sensational save after another. He's rescued the Reds on many occasions over the years, but nothing compares to this heroic and decisive display of shot-stopping. He went full Thibaut Courtois in the 2022 Champions League final!
Trent Alexander-Arnold (6/10):
The England international's passing was unusually awful but, on the flip side, he was actually very good defensively, putting in some perfectly-timed challenges on Kvaratskhelia & Co.
Ibrahima Konate (4/10):
So, so lucky to stay on the field after a clear push on Barcola as the winger bore down on goal. Can't fault his commitment thereafter, but he remains a walking liability.
Virgil van Dijk (5.5/10):
Went missing on one PSG attack and it's rare that you ever see him so loose in possession but, despite being nowhere near his best, he remained the glue that held a fragile back four together.
Andy Robertson (5/10):
The Scot worked hard to win the ball back, but his passing was terrible and he was powerless to prevent Dembele from repeatedly blazing past him.
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Ryan Gravenberch (3/10):
His worst performance of the season – and by some distance. The Dutchman's distribution was atrocious and he was repeatedly found wanting defensive. Probably should have been taken off much earlier.
Alexis Mac Allister (5/10):
Full of fight but twice left trailing in Dembele's wake inside the opening 20 minutes and that set the tone for a poor performance, with the Argentine failing to exert any influence over the game until late on.
Dominik Szoboszlai (5.5/10):
Full of running as always and also led a couple of counter-attacks, but he also did little to help Liverpool to gain a foothold in the middle of the park.
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Mohamed Salah (3/10):
A painfully ineffective performance from the Premier League's best player. Salah got absolutely no change out of the very impressive Nuno Mendes all evening and even on the rare occasions he did get on the ball in a bit of space, he gave it away. In truth, he was lucky to last 86 minutes.
Diogo Jota (4.5/10):
Didn't want for effort, but he struggled badly to hold the ball up and relieve some pressure on the Reds defence. In fairness, he's still not match fit and it was no surprise to see him hooked after an hour.
Luis Diaz (3/10):
Looked lively enough in the opening 10 minutes, but just got worse the longer the game wore on, repeatedly running down blind alleys as he proved incapable of offering his team any kind of out-ball.
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Curtis Jones (6/10):
Brought some much-needed intensity and tenacity to the midfield when he came on.
Darwin Nunez (7/10):
He didn't score (obviously!) but the Uruguayan produced a priceless assist after bossing Marquinhos in the air before weighting a lovely ball into the path of Elliott. His key contribution should do his confidence the power of good.
Harvey Elliott (7.5/10):
The return of Liverpool's super-sub! The versatile attacker replaced the struggling Salah with just a few minutes to go and made an immediate impact by beating Gigi Donnarumma with a low strike just 46 seconds after coming off the bench.
Wataru Endo (7/10):
Unsurprisingly, the reliable Japanese midfielder's energy made a huge difference when he took over from the terribly ineffective Gravenberch. Such a valuable player to have in reserve.
Arne Slot (7/10):
Hard to criticise the Dutchman for his side's struggles in the first half, given he picked the starting line-up everyone expected. There was also a fear that he left it too long to inject some freshness into a tired team but, credit where it's due, Endo, Darwin and Elliott all made a big difference when they came on.
