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Even when they triumph, Liverpool in the 21st century never seems to make Europe easy. His UEFA Cup win in 2001 earned him a 5-4 overtime gold over Alaves, while his Champions League triumph in 2005 required two separate returns in the third period: a goal against Olympiakos in the group stage. the other – as you may have heard once or twice – against Milan in the final.
Jurgen Klopp always felt like a good candidate for Liverpool. It is therefore perfectly normal that he maintain this tradition. The German has not yet won any of these trophies – either in Liverpool or the former club Borussia Dortmund – but has participated in both finals since arriving at Anfield. On no occasion did they arrive there in a straight line.
Their run to the final of the Europa League in 2016 required a 3-1 return to Dortmund, all clubs together, in the quarterfinals. Dejan Lovren's goal in overtime was 4-3. Last year, the Champions League final came after a 5-2 semi-final victory over Roma in the semifinal and a 7-6 aggregate record.
A group consisting of Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain and Red Star have never been easier, but after another last-minute European winner at Anfield in their first group match – a 3-2 win against PSG , offered by Roberto Firmino – after a day when Napoli drew to Belgrade, things seemed rather optimistic for the Reds.
This is no longer the case. Their 2-1 loss to a top PSG team means that Liverpool have now lost three of their last four Champions League games, forcing them to defeat a Napoli team that only needs a draw. . Worse still, they would probably need to defeat with a clean goal or with two goals scored, but any win with a goal would be enough if the PSG failed.
If they want to imagine the tie-breaking criteria of the UEFA Champions League, they will have to improve that performance. Being opened by a front line composed of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Edison Cavani is not a cause for particular shame – especially with the Brazilian in a form as excellent as it was in the first period – but they could be afflicted with the ease with which they did it.
Liverpool had not played 4-3-3 in one of the two claimed league victories as a result of the 2-0 defeat in Belgrade, but they did it here. This defeat left them so desperate for points tonight in Paris, and it was not more successful on this occasion.
Jordan Henderson was caught jogging in Juan Bernat's first game. The captain failed to cover his teammate James Milner after missing a tackle on the center line. This forced right-back Joe Gomez to go inside to close Marco Verratti, which in turn left Dejan Lovren, taken apart by two reasons to know if he had to recover Mbappe. or Bernat. So when Virgil Van Dijk made a bad clearance, the Liverpool defense, now resilient, was everywhere and Bernat ended up putting the ball in the net.
Mane and Mohamed Salah weaving as usual, 4-3-3 also inevitably involved pushing the side defenders forward to get wide, which allowed PSG to score the second goal. Neymar's combination with Mbappe on the left allowed PSG to overtake Gomez in his own camp and Lovren on the center line. With that, Liverpool was once again at their mercy, and Neymar made a beautiful move with a simple tap-in.
James Milner scored a goal off the penalty spot after Sadio Mane was shot down by a ridiculous challenge from Angel Di Maria. The fact that the penalty required correction of the referee and that Verratti was very lucky to remain on the field after a terrible fault from Joe Gomez, and of course that Neymar was up to his usual follies, Given the advantage to Klopp: The interview of the match with BT Sport consisted mainly of complaining of the officials.
In truth, his side deserved a little more. Although he had 56% possession of the ball at home, Milner's penalty was Liverpool's only shot and the only chance to give them a real mark. It was a team that built its reputation on its offensive strength, but on this occasion, the much-vaunted trio of Mane, Firmino and Salah was made to look like imposters by their very well badembled counterparts, dressed in shirts of a amazing white.
The result is that it is very likely that Liverpool will end up in the Europa League or even out of Europe on December 11, when visiting Napoli at Anfield. It's a winnable match, but again, there's a good chance they'll need to score at least twice or three times against an Italian team that only needs a draw.
Superstitious fans and experts would say there was no better precedent for doing something special in Europe, but their more realistic counterparts would like once, once again, Liverpool could have avoided doing so hard.
Steven Poulet is on Twitter
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