The weight of the Ballon d'Or tipped the scales at Anfield. Just when Liverpool were fighting tooth and nail in the second half to get back into contention after the 2-0 defeat in Paris, the best player of 2025 cut them down!
With Ousmane Dembélé signing off the match with 2 goals towards the end, PSG celebrated another 2-0 victory at Anfield and soared into the semi-finals of the Champions League, where they await the winner of the Bayern - Real pairing!
The Parisians started the match with greater fervour and came close to scoring in the 13th minute, but Mamardashvili, in two instances seconds apart, was there to avert the danger.
Four minutes later, Dembélé wasted PSG's best chance in the first half when he shot high opposite the Georgian keeper, in a first twenty minutes played at a French pace.
As if that wasn't enough, Liverpool lost Ekitike in the 31st minute, who was stretchered off, but a few seconds later they almost took the lead from a play that originated from his replacement's feet. Specifically, from a cross by Salah, Kerkez made a lunge at the far post, Safonov neutralized it, and on the rebound, Marquinhos made a crucial tackle on Van Dijk's shot that was about to score.
Dembélé's seal against the run of play
In contrast to the first half, Liverpool completely dominated the second and pushed for another comeback with the support of their fans.
However, Safonov in the 49th minute and Kerkez's inaccuracy in front of goal (57th minute) kept the Reds from scoring. In the 64th minute, Anfield cheered when the referee awarded a penalty to Mac Allister after a foul by Pancho, but he rescinded his decision after reviewing the play on the monitor. Liverpool continued to press, but in their best moment, Safonov was once again present to save Engoumouha's low shot (71st minute).
And since the hosts couldn't find the goal, in the end they were punished by Dembélé.
In the 73rd minute, against the run of play, the Frenchman brought the ball to his left foot and with a tremendous shot from outside the area, he aimed for the corner to make it 0-1, condemning Liverpool.
In the 90th minute, he added another with a close-range shot to perfectly finish a Parisian counter-attack, as they had practically forced Slot's players to surrender in the final part of the game.