Liverpool face Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final with the tie finely balanced in emotional terms but not on the scoreboard, after PSG won the first meeting 2-0. Arne Slot’s side need a major response to stay alive in the competition, while Luis Enrique’s team arrived in England with the confidence of a side that controlled the first leg and kept their starting XI unchanged.
The match kicked off at 8pm at Anfield, where Liverpool again leaned on the reputation of famous European comebacks and PSG tried to protect a lead that should have been larger. The game also carried extra weight because it came at a stage when Liverpool still needed a signature night to rescue their Champions League campaign and keep their season moving toward silverware.
Liverpool’s starting line-up and selection call
Liverpool made one change from the first leg, with Alexander Isak starting for the first time in a Liverpool match since December. He replaced Joe Gomez, while Mohamed Salah and Rio Ngumoha both began on the bench after playing and scoring against Fulham at the weekend.
Slot later indicated that Isak was unlikely to play much more than 45 minutes, a detail that shaped the logic of the selection. Starting him gave Liverpool an early attacking option without risking a late-game scenario where the tie could drift into extra time and demand even more from an unfit forward.
- Goalkeeper: Giorgi Mamardashvili
- Defence: Jeremie Frimpong, Ibrahima Konaté, Virgil van Dijk, Milos Kerkez
- Midfield: Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister
- Attack: Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike
The bench included Salah, Chiesa, Robertson and Ngumoha, giving Liverpool multiple ways to change the game if they needed a late surge. That depth mattered because the first leg showed how quickly PSG could control space and tempo when Liverpool could not press cleanly.
PSG stay unchanged
Paris Saint-Germain kept the same side that delivered the first-leg advantage, a decision that reflected both performance and confidence. Their attacking line featured Ousmane Dembélé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Désiré Doué, while Vitinha, João Neves and Warren Zaïre-Emery formed the midfield.
PSG’s line-up was: Chevalier; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes; Zaïre-Emery, Vitinha, João Neves; Doué, Dembélé, Kvaratskhelia. Their unchanged selection suggested Luis Enrique wanted continuity, not caution, in a stadium known for turning seemingly stable ties into chaos.
Why Anfield still mattered
The build-up to the match was shaped by Liverpool’s history of dramatic European recoveries, including famous nights against Saint-Étienne, Auxerre, Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona. The 4-0 win over Barcelona remains the defining example, and it has continued to feed belief that Anfield can alter the shape of a Champions League tie.
That history, however, sat beside a more uncomfortable truth from the first leg, when PSG were clearly the superior side and created enough chances to win by more than two goals. Even with Liverpool’s home support and the weight of precedent, the away side entered the tie with the stronger performance data and the better control of the match state.
Key details at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Competition | Champions League quarter-final, second leg |
| Venue | Anfield |
| Kick-off | 8pm |
| First-leg score | PSG 2-0 Liverpool |
| Liverpool tactical shape | Possible 4-3-2 / 4-2-3-1 variation |
| PSG tactical shape | 4-3-3 |
| Referee | Maurizio Mariani, Italy |
Liverpool’s challenge was not only to recover the scoreline but also to break PSG’s rhythm early, before the visitors could settle into the same controlled patterns that worked so well in the first leg. For PSG, the task was simpler on paper but still delicate, because a single Liverpool goal would instantly change the tension inside Anfield and revive one of Europe’s most famous comeback grounds.