Paris Saint-Germain beats Liverpool at Anfield to reach the Champions League semifinals
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain advanced to the Champions League semifinals with a 2-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday.
Ousmane Dembele’s two second-half goals sealed a 4-0 aggregate victory and kept PSG on course to defend European club soccer’s biggest prize.
Dembele’s first goal killed off Liverpool’s fight as the Premier League club went in search of another famous Champions League comeback. The Ballon d’Or winner swept a low left-footed shot from the edge of the area past goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili to quieten the home crowd and ease PSG tension.
His second came at the end of a sweeping move in stoppage time.
Dembele had been guilty of wasting chances in the first leg to effectively put the tie to bed and he failed to capitalize on two more first-half opportunities to put the French champion further ahead at Anfield.
But his opening goal was dispatched with precision — nestling in the bottom corner. His second was a clinical finish from close range.
PSG is aiming to become only the second club to successfully defend the trophy in the Champions League era after Real Madrid won a hat trick of titles between 2016-18.
PSG will play the winner of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the semifinals.
Also Tuesday, Atletico Madrid advanced to the semifinals after a 3-2 aggregate win over Barcelona.
Defeat ended Liverpool’s hopes of a dramatic turnaround after being dominated in Paris last week.
The six-time champion knows all about comebacks in this competition. It was 3-0 down to AC Milan in the 2005 final and powered back to win on penalties. More recently, it routed Barcelona 4-0 in the 2019 semifinals to overturn a 3-0 first-leg loss and go on to lift the trophy.
Anfield is famed for its white-hot atmosphere, especially on European nights, and the PSG team bus was greeted by red flares as it approached the ground. But inside, the French fans more than held their own — singing loudly in the away section as the home crowd seemed strangely subdued at times.
It was only in the second half that the Liverpool fans appeared to believe a comeback was possible — especially when referee Maurizio Mariani pointed to the spot for a foul by Willian Pacho on Alexis Mac Allister shortly after the hour.
With the score at 0-0, this was the chance to apply the pressure. But celebrations soon turned to disappointment when the penalty was overturned after review.
Dembele’s opener came in the 72nd minute — taking his time to pick his spot before firing home.
With the tie effectively over, it was the PSG fans who could be heard singing loudest and they were given more to cheer when Dembele struck again.
___
James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
© Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
