Paris Saint-Germain defeated Liverpool, with Ousmane Dembele scoring twice, to advance to the Champions League semi-finals, where Luis Enrique’s team will face Bayern Munich or Real Madrid.
PSG entered the second leg with a two-goal lead but were forced to work hard at a boisterous Anfield until Dembele scored in the 72nd minute with a beautiful left-footed finish. In extra time, the Ballon d’Or winner added a second.
Liverpool pushed and puffed in their bid to pull off another epic European comeback, but Arne Slot’s team failed to score against the Champions League holders, and for the second season in a row, they were eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain.
Liverpool were far better against the French side at Anfield than they were in Paris the previous week, where they lost 2-0. They asked questions, but it wasn’t enough.
Slot chose to give Alexander Isak his first start since December, leaving Mohamed Salah on the bench, but Salah was brought on at the half-hour mark after Hugo Ekitike was forced off with what appeared to be a serious injury.
The visitors posed the greater danger in the first half, with Giorgi Mamardashvili making saves to deny Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Dembele.
Dembele squandered a golden opportunity when he fired over with only the goalkeeper to beat. On the opposite end, Marquinhos produced a great challenge to prevent Liverpool from scoring a goal.
Slot made a double replacement at halftime, replacing Isak with Cody Gakpo and Jeremie Frimpong with Joe Gomez, and Liverpool opened the second half strongly but failed to capitalize.
They were awarded a penalty in the 65th minute when Alexis Mac Allister fell down following a challenge by Willian Pacho, but referee Maurizio Mariani overturned the decision after the visual assistance referee (VAR) intervened.
Seven minutes later, Kvaratskhelia found Dembele, who beat Mamardashvili with speed and strength from 20 yards out to seal the stalemate.
And as Anfield emptied, Dembele tapped in from close range after Bradley Barcola set him up.
Liverpool’s defeat means they will finish the season without any trophies, and it is unclear whether they will qualify for Champions League football next season.
