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After the defeat in Paris, the Reds must beat Napoli 1-0 or by two goals to ensure their progression to the last 16 games of a competition that they had intended to win.
The dramatic kings of the Champions League will have to add another famous Anfield night to their collection.
Liverpool's European dreams depend on visiting Naples in two weeks. Jurgen Klopp's team will have to defeat the Italians 1-0 or by two goals, to qualify for the last 16 games of a competition for which they had the idea to win at the beginning of the season.
This is feasible, of course, but hardly a situation that will please even the most optimistic of the Reds. Once again, their team will walk the tightrope during their last group match and the Europa League, which awaits them in case of failure, is not a safety net.
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Leonardo Di Caprio and Mick Jagger were present to watch them, but in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, it was the stars of Paris Saint-Germain who shone the most.
The goals of Juan Bernat and Neymar in the first half allowed Liverpool not to be up in Europe. It was their fifth consecutive defeat away from Anfield. James Milner's penalty was their only consolation, despite a much improved performance in the second period in the Parc des Princes. "We have not made the right decisions," Klopp moans afterwards.
The first 45 minutes did damage, however. The misfortunes of Liverpool during their travels placed them in this extremely precarious situation, and in the first period in Paris they seemed as lost as in Naples and Belgrade. So, in fact, that reaching the 2-1 break down seemed a good result.
Just as against Napoli and Red Star, the Klopp midfielder malfunctioned. A successful 4-3-3 comeback was designed to give his team more strength and control, but his trio of Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Gini Wijnaldum failed in his two main tasks. .
They were unable to protect their defense against Neymar's threat, Kylian Mbappe and Co. and had trouble giving the ball to the attacking stars of Liverpool. According to Klopp, the gap in the center was sometimes "incredibly wide".
Milner's kick, converted at the last minute of the half, was Liverpool's only effort in goal. Visitors improved significantly after the break, pushing for the equalizer that would have made life easier next month, but Gianluigi Buffon in the PSG goal has not been tested. A crime, given the circumstances.
Klopp played once, twice, three times. He replaced Wijnaldum, booked early, with Naby Keita. He threw Xherdan Shaqiri for Milner. Daniel Sturridge made his last throw, but Roberto Firmino has come a long way. Close, but no cigar.
The concession of mediocre goals, easy goals, was a theme of this campaign of the Champions League and it continued here. It took only 13 minutes for PSG to find holes in the Reds Armory.
To yield at any level, let alone at the highest, was a mediocre goal. The Liverpool midfielder, a concern among the fans before the kickoff, was bypbaded far too easily and when Mbappe pbaded the ball through the box, the first Virgil van Dijk, then Dejan Lovren reacted too casually, allowing Bernat, the least credible markers, to break the impbade in the near post.
While Liverpool's central trio were working hard, noticeable in a Milner free kick that he was knocking out of the game, Marco Verratti stood out at the start.
The Italian, both composed and in a hurry, dominated the debates early on, although he had the chance to run away with just one yellow card for a tough challenge for Joe Gomez. Not for the last time, referee Szymon Marciniak was baffled by his decision. "For me, it's a red card," Klopp said. "It was certainly not the same color as the other 500 yellow cards."
PSG's second goal was to be admired, a super-fast combination between Mbappe and Neymar who split Liverpool on his right. Sometimes wonderful players do wonderful things, unfortunately for the Reds.
Milner's penalty, inflicted late (and correctly) for a foul on Angel Di Maria's Sadio Mane, provided a lifeline before the interval, but it was the visitors who pushed the most after the break, but the champions of Ligue 1 remained firm.
The match ended with Marciniak at the forefront, generating a multitude of bookings. According to rumors, Di Caprio, Jagger and Charles de Gaulle all allegedly had yellow cards in their time. "We were made to look like butchers," said Klopp, who saw half a dozen of his players warned.
Liverpool, however, can not and should not blame the officials. They are in this position because of their own failures. Not necessarily here, but certainly in Belgrade and Naples too. Lessons have not been learned.
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And now, they are where they are. Looking at the barrel towards the wall.
Only one way out. It's time to fight, take action, deliver.
It's time to walk on this tightrope again.
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