Liverpool will still be counting their lucky stars that they possess a 1-0 lead after the first leg of their UEFA Champions League last 16 tie with PSG, which was courtesy of their only shot on target after their goal was under severe pressure all game. Another 90 minutes or more still separates either of these teams from the quarter-finals, but Liverpool look good value to advance having progressed from all 37 previous European ties in which they won the first leg away from home.
The Reds experienced another scare at the weekend, when they trailed the Premier League’s bottom club Southampton at half-time but eventually ran out 3-1 winners. The Kop will be expecting Arne Slot to mastermind another victorious performance here, since the Reds have beaten their last five French visitors to Anfield.
That makes ominous reading for PSG, who also have to contend with the fact that French sides have won none of their last 15 visits to England overall (having drawn one and lost 14 matches). The Parisians themselves have lost their last four trips to these shores, but they’ve proven dangerous when wounded, having managed to progress in two of their previous five UCL knockout ties after losing the first leg.
The most recent example was beating Barcelona 6-4 on aggregate last season despite losing at home initially, although that was the first time after seven failed attempts previously that they had won a two-legged European tie after a home loss in the first leg. Luis Enrique’s troops will be desperate to perform another miracle on Merseyside, and confidence should be high since they got back to winning ways with an emphatic 4-1 win at Rennes at the weekend.
