Paris Saint-Germain took a commanding step toward the Champions League semi-finals with a dominant 2-0 victory over Liverpool in the first leg of their quarter-final clash in Paris.
Goals from Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia secured the win for the Ligue 1 leaders, who controlled the match from the outset against an underwhelming Liverpool side that failed to register a shot on target.
PSG opened the scoring in the 11th minute when Doue’s effort from just inside the box deflected off Virgil van Dijk, looping over stand-in goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. The early goal set the tone for a one-sided encounter, with the hosts dictating play and carving open Liverpool’s defence repeatedly.
Mamardashvili, filling in for the injured Alisson, produced several key saves to keep the deficit manageable, including a one-handed stop to deny Kvaratskhelia and another to prevent Doue from doubling the lead earlier.
However, the Georgian winger would not be denied, later producing a moment of brilliance as he rounded the goalkeeper following a defence-splitting pass from Joao Neves to make it 2-0.
Liverpool, still reeling from a heavy defeat to Manchester City in their previous outing, adopted a cautious approach with a five-man defence but struggled to contain PSG’s attacking threat. Their difficulties were compounded by missed chances from Ousmane Dembele, who squandered multiple opportunities to extend the lead.
There was further controversy late on, as a penalty initially awarded to PSG for a challenge by Ibrahima Konate was overturned after a VAR review. Konate also survived another penalty scare in stoppage time following a push on Nuno Mendes.
Alexander Isak made his return from injury off the bench, but Liverpool offered little in attack and now face a significant challenge to overturn the deficit in the second leg at Anfield next Tuesday.
Oluwagbemisola Babalola
