A number of Paris Saint-Germain players are adamant they will beat Liverpool at Anfield despite their 1-0 loss to the Reds in Paris
Liverpool stunned Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night as they won 1-0 in the Parc des Princes despite being dominated by the Ligue 1 side for the majority. Harvey Elliott came off the bench to score a late winner with his first touch, but the Reds had Alisson Becker to thank for the victory, with the Brazilian having had to make a record nine saves prior to their winner.
Arne Slot’s side will now host PSG back at Anfield for the Champions League round-of-16 second leg on Tuesday night. Should they progress, they are likely to face Aston Villa in the quarter-finals after Unai Emery’s side’s 3-1 win away at Club Brugge.
But the PSG dressing room are not going down without a fight. Adamant they should have beaten Liverpool on Wednesday, a number of Luis Enrique’s players are insistent they will now go to Anfield and win, believing the Reds are not capable of beating them again.
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“Tough, everyone saw it. It’s tough to play a game like that, against this team,” Vitinha told Canal+ after the final whistle. “They scored on their only chance. It’s tough but now we’re going to show the team we are.
“It’s been a long time since we lost. Now it’s up to us to show our personality, our strength. That’s what a real team is. We’re going to go there, we’re going to play a great game and this time, we’re going to score. And we’re going to go through, I’m sure of it.
“We’re not going to hide behind that (Konate not being sent off for a challenge on Bradley Barcola). I remain optimistic because with the game we played, the victory would have been more than deserved. I know that the only thing that matters in football is that the ball goes into the goal.
“But the truth is that we are closer (to winning) by playing like this. We had plenty of chances, like at the start of the season, but we didn’t manage to score.
“But I’m sure that will happen in Liverpool, we will play a great match, we will show personality once again and we will win.”
Both Willian Pacho and Achraf Hakimi echoed similar sentiments when talking in the mixed zone post-match as PSG’s frustration at the result became increasingly clear.
“It’s very difficult this evening,” Pacho admitted. “The team did a good job, we played a good game. We had a lot of chances, a lot of opportunities.
“The truth is that we did a lot to deserve the win, but that’s football. Things don’t always go your way. But now we have to pick ourselves up, now we have to improve and move forward to win the return match.
“We played a great game, we know what we’re capable of. We have to be positive to get the best out of the best version of ourselves. We have a great team, a great opportunity. We have to play to fight until the end anyway.
“I know we’re going to score. We have to keep our heads up. I have confidence in my team. We have what we did today was incredible. It (the goal) was bad luck, we made a mistake but these are things that happen in football.
“As I said, we have to keep our heads up, be positive and move forward. I think that if we do things well, we’ll get a good result there.
“When you see the desire of the team to go forward, to not take a step back, to always want more. That’s what helps us and inspires us to keep growing as a team, as players. I’m convinced we’re going to win the game there.”
Meanwhile, Hakimi said: “We are frustrated to lose the match like that. We have already seen that against Atletico Madrid.
“There are many matches in which we have had many chances, dominated the entire match, and the opposing team creates an opportunity. It hurts to end the match like that.
“We are happy with the work done, the effort, the desire of the whole team. We are ready to go to Liverpool to get a victory that we deserved today.
“Today, we saw the desire and the personality of the whole team. We dominated, we created chances, we had the ball, we attacked… I don’t think the match will end the same way twice.
“If we have the same personality, the same dynamic, the same determination as today, it’s certain that we will manage to qualify. If we create as many chances, it’s certain that we will score at least one goal.
“Alisson Becker was the man of the match, he had a very good game. He deserves this trophy. They knew our qualities, our team, they respected us a lot and they expected a great atmosphere at the Parc des Princes.
“They tried to keep the result to make the difference at Anfield. They didn’t want to attack like they usually do. They scored on their only chance.
“We’re not happy but we’ll go there, we’ll try to win. We’re happy. There’s a second game left, a week to prepare. We have the capacity to get through this round, we’re ready for it, we’ll continue to work, with the same dynamic as since the start of the season. We’ll go there to win.”
Meanwhile, while Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was not willing to make the same predictions ahead of next week’s trip to Anfield, he admitted to Canal+ that he felt PSG had proven they were a better side than Liverpool.
“We had many chances to score, we deserved much more,” he said. “We showed them that we are a better team. This is football, we have to prepare for the return leg and give our best.
“Liverpool, at Anfield, it will not be easy. We have to play the same game and score. I was sad that my goal was disallowed and I have to continue to work very hard.”
A number of PSG players, as well as manager Enrique, had been vocal about their confidence ahead of facing Liverpool earlier in the week, even detailing how they planned to get the better of the Reds.
With PSG arguably now even more confident despite defeat as they prepare to travel to Merseyside, time will tell just how ill-advised those declarations prove to be and if Liverpool can leave them with egg on their faces for the second time in the space of a week on what is set to be another special Anfield European night.