Slot's Isak gamble backfires as Liverpool trophy hopes end
When these two sides met in the Champions League last 16 last season, PSG were the better side across the two legs but they needed a penalty shootout to knock Liverpool out. This time around, they outclassed Slot's side in Paris and, while there were spells on Tuesday night when Liverpool threatened, the final scoreline of 4-0 across two legs was fair. "Of course we are very disappointed because I think there were parts of the second half where you could feel 'if we could just score now, this could become a very special night'," said Slot.
"But the future looks very bright for this team, for this club. We have showed we can compete with the champions of Europe in our stadium. To be the dominant team, not many teams can be dominant against PSG and create as many chances as we did," he added.
At Anfield, Liverpool's xG was 1. 94 compared with the 0. 18 at the Parc des Princes last week.
So there were positives to take, but there is still plenty to be done before they can be considered serious contenders on the European stage again. After the match, Mohamed Salah waved goodbye to the Anfield crowd after playing his last game for Liverpool in the Champions League. Now the question is whether Slot and Liverpool will be back in the Champions League next season.
Slot made the bold call to start Alexander Isak for the first time since December after his ankle injury, and revealed before the match that he was only fit to play for one half. With hindsight, it didn't work. Isak managed just five touches in the 45 minutes before he was replaced by Cody Gakpo at the break.