Liverpool vs PSG LIVE: Latest updates from Champions League quarter-final at Anfield

The teams are out and the Champions League anthem rings around Anfield as the home fans drown it out with a renditon of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.

The pre-match atmosphere is certainly matching the occasion!

The two teams are gathered in the tunnel at Anfield, so we should be underway soon!

Do we have a historic comeback in store, or will PSG silence Anfield once more? We’re about to find out.

Robbie Fowler is perplexed at Slot’s comments on Isak. The former Liverpool striker had this to say on Amazon Prime:

“I can’t believe he’s done that. He has come out and more or less given the tactic away, straight away. If he changes after 45 minutes, there is going to be a change in the tactics, formation or dynamics of Liverpool. It doesn’t make sense for me.”

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has revealed that Alexander Isak “will not be able to play much more than 45 minutes” this evening as the striker continues his return from injury.

“The thinking is that we need to score goals and there are goals in these players. They are two target men, two players we can play in to. As you might not know, Isak will not be able to play much more than 45 minutes – with the possibility of extra time, it makes sense for me to start him.

“We need to do a few things well, but I don’t think it’s that much about tactics this time.You have to match their intensity off the ball,” explained the Liverpool boss.

On the state of play before kick-off, he added: “I have felt a lift already when we arrived. We will probably feel it more when we go out for the warm-up and even more when we go out to play. We need to be at our best and our fans to be at their best.”

The logic behind starting Alexander Isak is that Liverpool are not sure how long he can play so, with the possibility of extra time, Arne Slot thinks it is better he plays from the off, rather than potentially having to substitute a substitute.

Arne Slot accepts Liverpool can be nothing short of “exceptional” if they are to add to the list of magical European nights at Anfield against Paris St Germain on Tuesday.

Liverpool failed to register a shot on target and were outclassed in the French capital last week as European champions PSG claimed a 2-0 win in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

But the Reds have staged several unlikely European comebacks, most recently overturning a 3-0 deficit against Barcelona by winning 4-0 on Merseyside en route to lifting the Champions League trophy in 2019.

Liverpool have lost four games in the Champions League this season, which is their joint-most in a single campaign. The last time they lost four was in 2018/19, though they went on to win the trophy that season!

Interestingly for the Reds, Florian Wirtz has created more chances from open play than any other player in the competition this season, while Dominik Szoboszlai has created more chances from set-pieces than any other player.

These two sides have met just five times previously in European competition, with PSG winning two and Liverpool winning three.

The most notable match-up between the two came last season in the round of 16, when table-topping Liverpool secured a dramatic late win courtesy of Harvey Elliott before PSG reversed that result and eventually won on penalties at Anfield.

Will we see another positive result for the holders tonight, or can Liverpool mount another historic European comeback?

Arne Slot referenced his distinctive look. “I tend to think of myself that my brains are not the worst part of my head,” said the Liverpool head coach. “The hair is not growing a lot but I can remember a lot.” If it means Slot can remember three games against Paris Saint-Germain, from the smash-and-grab win in the Parc des Princes last season to the one-sided defeat in the French capital last week, that brainpower will be required to devise a blueprint to eliminate the holders from the Champions League.

Slot has to be psychologist as well as strategist. He started off by reminding his players Liverpool were only 2-0 down. “It felt completely different,” he admitted. A side who failed to muster a shot on target in Paris need a minimum of two goals, and probably more. Slot has also turned mathematician in his attempts to instil optimism.