How PSG completely dismantled Liverpool in one-sided Champions League quarter-final

[p]In the lead-up to the game, the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/liverpool/lId4TMwf/"]Reds[/a] had been comprehensively beaten in the FA Cup by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-city/Wtn9Stg0/"]Man City[/a] and had also lost again in the Premier League against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/brighton/2XrRecc3/"]Brighton[/a] - their 10th defeat of a frankly awful domestic campaign.[/p][h2]Slot's big call on Salah[/h2][p]By contrast, in their last six matches in all competitions, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/psg/CjhkPw0k/"]PSG[/a] had won five and lost one, scoring 17 goals and conceding six in that time.[/p][p]Against Luis Enrique's swashbuckling side, Liverpool were going to have to be at their very best to take an advantage back to Anfield for the second leg of the quarter-final.[/p][image alt="PSG v Liverpool - Starting XIs" id="67320e99-2d7a-4510-aa59-200a0b4a797a" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="8f87cd87-3829-4228-ad9e-67e04a3df538" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p]Taking them all the way to penalties in their UCL fixture last season will have given the Reds hope that they could repeat the trick, albeit they were in much better form then than now.[/p][p]Slot's big call to leave [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/salah-mohamed/08FBycgB/"]Mo Salah[/a] out of the starting line-up was also going to be a discussion point one way or the other.[/p][h2]Doue gives PSG a deserved lead[/h2][p]The match started as might've been expected with the hosts on the front foot from the first whistle.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/doue-desire/KIUWH2Jq/"]Desire Doue[/a] had already seen one shot blocked in the opening 10 minutes before opening the scoring just after with a deflected shot that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mamardashvili-giorgi/lxnsUkIc/"]Giorgi Mamardashvili[/a] could do nothing about.[/p][embed guid="be8f801c-bdbc-4537-b734-2313ec0a82f1" url="https://x.com/PSG_English/status/2041958790916866450" social-type="twitter" /][p]It was the worst possible start for the visitors, who had offered nothing by way of attacking intent during the early exchanges.[/p][p]PSG hadn't lost a UCL game this season after taking the lead, and Liverpool had only won once after conceding first, so the writing was already on the wall with almost 80 minutes still to play.[/p][h2]Liverpool were being played off the park[/h2][p]81% collective possession for the hosts in the opening 15 minutes against the reigning Premier League champions was a remarkable stat, with all PSG players bar [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dembele-ousmane/zsMC2Ec0/"]Ousmane Dembele[/a] posting pass completion stats of over 90%.[/p][p]The ease with which the Ligue 1 side passed Liverpool off the pitch clearly irked Slot, but for the neutral, the movement and passages of play were a joy to watch.[/p][image alt="Vitinha's pass map against Liverpool" id="a6ad02ea-3959-465f-94ce-69c526c955cf" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="447bb77e-9973-4a34-9a36-f75585e811f5" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vitinha/Sz9SH7zj/"]Vitinha[/a]'s 95.7% completion was the least surprising stat of the night, and by the end of the game, the workaholic midfielder had made an incredible 139 passes, of which 133 found a teammate.[/p][p]No Liverpool player managed more than 29 ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gravenberch-ryan/Y5aFd8V4/"]Ryan Gravenberch[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/szoboszlai-dominik/dERKtqoo/"]Dominic Szoboszlai[/a]).[/p][p]By half-time, the visitors still hadn't had a single shot on or off target, whilst just one goal from PSG's eight attempts was, in some respects, scant consolation for their dominance.[/p][h2]Kvaratskhelia's moment of magic[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kerkez-milos/2H46JAgp/"]Milos Kerkez[/a] had only played five passes before the break, and the inability to raid down the left channel, coupled with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/frimpong-jeremie/SjJ6pCvC/"]Jeremie Frimpong[/a]'s runs often being curtailed at source, left Liverpool out of ideas.[/p][p]Unusually for Szoboszlai, he lost possession on 14 separate occasions, and that will have largely contributed to Slot's decision to hook him during the second half.[/p][embed guid="387cc207-4a2e-4ced-b80d-7519ed4d51f1" url="https://x.com/PSG_English/status/2041986635999351144" social-type="twitter" /][p]With [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/konate-ibrahima/QJlbDbQe/"]Ibrahima Konate[/a] working overtime trying to stem the tide of PSG attacks, winning half of his 12 one-on-ones in the process, the hosts were just about being kept at bay.[/p][p]Just after the hour, however, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kvaratskhelia-khvicha/bNuGt0hE/"]Khvicha Kvaratskhelia[/a] produced a moment of real quality when he shrugged off the attentions of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gomez-joe/SKt9dxk8/"]Joe Gomez[/a], before rounding Mamardashvili and delaying his shot by just a second so he could find the right angle to bury the ball in the corner of the net.[/p][h2]Isak and Gakpo unable to deliver[/h2][p]A second shot on target from the Georgian was one of seven he'd have in the match; more than double Liverpool's entire output.[/p][p]Things might have got even worse if the match official hadn't overturned a decision to award PSG a penalty kick, which came in a 15-minute period after the hour, where the hosts held onto the ball for an astonishing 86% of the time.[/p][image alt="PSG v Liverpool - Match stats" id="5576b216-03aa-4301-9e31-fdf64cdc3cc1" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="de963e17-8003-4250-85ce-0daee95429b5" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]With time running out, surely bringing Salah on to salvage something was the order of the day, but Slot's quadruple substitution didn't include the Egyptian King.[/p][p]In [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/isak-alexander/p41IV42c/"]Alexander Isak[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gakpo-cody/pWyuBud0/"]Cody Gakpo[/a], he did bring on two attacking subs. However, the pair didn't have a single shot between them in their time on the pitch. Just four passes and eight total touches were the sum total of their output on the night.[/p][p]Dembele's shot against the woodwork ensures that Liverpool are still just about in this tie, though only the most fervent Reds supporter will believe that they have a chance of turning things around at Anfield.[/p][image alt="PSG v Liverpool - Momentum shift" id="4f53d1c0-d288-4eb6-af34-0f835e1d0b8d" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="2b540e9a-99f3-4b4b-902b-943841c90d84" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]No shots on target in the entire game (for the first time since facing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/atalanta/8C9JjMXu/"]Atalanta[/a] on 25th November 2020), almost two-thirds fewer passes made (253 to PSG's 746), just nine touches in the opposition box compared to PSG's 40... the difference between the two teams was like night and day.[/p][p]With Slot trotting out the same old tropes after the game, one has to fear for the Dutchman's future after such a dismal showing.[/p][image alt="Jason Pettigrove" id="f8178141-ea4e-41f2-99d6-9756ad1a0a31" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="501c68e2-461d-4dc3-adb4-0fe5ade7c1d9" original-width="1200" original-height="380" /]