The Paris Saint-Germain players were reportedly left ‘shocked by Liverpool’s level’ after defeat to Arne Slot’s side on Wednesday and believe there are two ‘more complete’ teams in the Champions League this season.
Alisson was the hero for Reds as he pulled off a number of miraculous saves to keep Slot’s side in the game before a smash-and-grab goal from late substitute Harvey Elliott ensured they will take a one-goal lead back to Anfield for the second leg.
PSG were the far better team at the Parcs des Princes and according to L’Equipe the players are “even more confident of progressing to the quarter-finals after the game than before”.
Luis Enrique’s side surely won’t be so dominant at Anfield and Liverpool could hardly be worse, and the report claims the PSG players are now ‘obsessed’ by the game at Anfield, with their confidence fuelled by the first leg despite defeat.
The Ligue 1 leaders were said to be surprised by the margin of their domination against Liverpool, whose poor level also surprised them.
‘PSG players feel Arsenal and Bayern Munich – their adversaries in the league phase – are stronger and more complete as a team than Arne Slot’s Reds,’ the report adds.
They were also reportedly surprised by Liverpool’s time-wasting antics – an accusation Virgil van Dijk addressed after the game.
“I didn’t feel we were time-wasting, we just tried to play the game, but it was clear as the game passed by that a draw was the best possible result for us,” Van Dijk said.
Mohamed Salah – who’s taken the Premier League by storm with 25 goals and 17 assists in 28 games and is now the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or this year – had no shots, completed no dribbles, failed to create a chance or make a key pass despite several opportunities to do so, and won no fouls or duels.
French outlet GFFN claimed having given him a 2/10 rating that Salah was a ‘phantom’.
The report stated: ‘Salah, touted as the current favourite for the Ballon d’Or, was a phantom.
‘The Egyptian was uninvolved for large periods, comfortably shackled by Mendes and Pacho. He didn’t make any of his three dribbles, lost all eight of his duels and lost possession on 16 occasions.’
FootMercato – who gave him a 2.5/10 – were similarly disparaging, claiming PSG left-back Mendes ‘devoured’ Salah in a ‘ghostly’ display by the 32-year-old.
‘The Egyptian was ghostly, touching very few balls in the Parisian camp,’ the FootMercato report stated.
‘On each of his rare accelerations, Salah was devoured by Nuno Mendes, in a duel where the Portuguese full-back was promised hell.
‘In the second half, the former Chelsea and Roma player had the chances, but never made the right decision with the ball at his feet, nipping in the bud the rare opportunities of the English, like in the last minutes when his pass to Nunez was too imprecise.’