PLAYER RATINGS | PSG 2-0 Liverpool: Reigning champions lead after dominant first leg | OneFootball

UEFA Champions League, Quarter-finals, 8/4/25

Paris Saint-Germain’s dominant display at home on Wednesday night gave them a 2-0 advantage against Liverpool heading into the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final. Désiré Doué and Khicha Kvaratskhelia found the net for Luis Enrique’s men, while goalkeeper Matvey Safonov was scarcely challenged by the visitors. 

The match

Having slipped to defeat against Liverpool in Paris just over a year ago, the reigning champions were looking to set up a more straightforward second-leg outing to Anfield this time round. “It was a very high-quality performances, it’s incredible that we lost that match,” Luis Enrique recalled in his pre-match press conference this week.

Wednesday night’s match started as the Asturian had hoped, with the Parisians as dominant on the ball as they were when the teams last met in Paris. The hosts had not yet tested Mamardashvili when, ten minutes in, Désiré Doué saw his shot from just inside the box deflected by Gravenberch and loop past the Georgian shot-stopper and into the goal.

PSG’s forays into the Liverpool box were still few and far between after the goal, however. A snapshot from Kvaratskhelia on the half-hour mark called the Liverpool goalkeeper into action, but Konaté and Van Dijk otherwise stood firm. Doué later had another chance to score from close range, having been played through by Nuno Mendes, but was denied one-on-one by Mamardashvili.

The pace began to pick up towards the end of the first half. Shortly after shot from Frimpong flashed wide of Safonov’s post, the hosts put together a rapid passing move which started from João Neves near at one end of the pitch and culminated in a blunted Dembélé shot at the other end.

Liverpool’s struggles in the final third continued at the start of the second half, with only a Hugo Ekitiké shot from the edge of the box to show for their early spell of pressure. PSG nearly doubled their lead minutes later, as Mendes found Ousmane Dembélé free in the box, but the French international sent his shot clear of the bar. 

While Ekitike served as a useful focal point, Liverpool were ultimately too wasteful in their build-up play to pose any real issue to the PSG defence. The hosts eventually broke through again halfway through the second half, as Kvaratskhelia continued his impressive form on the European stage. The Georgian, having been played through on goal, rounded his compatriot before firing into an empty (or at least, goalkeeper-less) net to double the lead.

Warren Zaïre-Emery, who had seemingly covered more ground than anyone else and appeared to be step ahead of his opponents in one-on-one duels, thought he had won a penalty with twenty minutes to go after being played through by Doué. The tackle in front of goal by Ibrahima Konaté, though, was eventually ruled legal after a VAR check.

Several more chances would fall to Dembélé, who was decidedly not in clinical form, coming closest with an effort that thundered off the right-hand post. The hosts had another claim to a penalty in stoppage-time when Konaté appeared to push over Nuno Mendes, but the referee again decided against awarding the spot-kick. The French international’s push appeared to be a more clear-cut foul than his earlier challenge on his compatriot.

Given the number of chances they will have had in the closing stages of both halves, PSG may regret not seeing Liverpool off definitively. In any case, the task facing Luis Enrique’s men on Merseyside next week is somewhat more manageable than last year’s, not least given the six-day rest they’ll have to prepare. They still won’t be letting their guard down, though. 

PSG player ratings

Matvey Safonov, 6

Achraf Hakimi, 6

Marquinhos, 7

Willian Pacho, 6

Nuno Mendes, 6

João Neves, 6

Vitinha, 6

Warren Zaïre-Emery, 8 – An imperious display from the teenager, who may have definitively claimed a spot in the first-choice eleven over Fabián Ruiz tonight. A first-half highlight saw him cleverly take the ball past Szoboszlai with a deft touch, while he also won the majority of his one-on-one duels in midfield. 

Désiré Doué, 7 – replaced by Kang-in Lee with ten minutes remaining.

Ousmane Dembélé, 5 – A misfiring performance from the Ballon d’Or holder, having wasted several close-range chances. The Frenchman nevertheless combined well Doué and Kvaratskhelia in the front free. Replaced by Lucas Hernández for the closing minutes of the match. 

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, 7

Selected Liverpool player ratings

Giorgi Mamardashvili, 4

Ibrahima Konaté, 5

Dominik Szoboszlai, 4

Hugo Ekitike, 6

GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin – reporting from the Parc des Princes