Paris Saint-Germain – Liverpool: PSG Stroll To A Narrow Lead In The Tie Despite Slot’s Tinkering (2-0)

PSG defeated Liverpool 2-0 at the Parc de Princes to secure a two-goal lead in the tie against the Reds. Goals from Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia gave the Parisians the two-goal cushion as Liverpool were left biting the dust creating zero shots on target.

Tactical analysis and match report by Gaurav Krishnan.

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There’s been much said about Liverpool and Arne Slot’s failure to rekindle the success he had in his first season at the club. The Reds strolled to Premier League triumph in Slot’s first season in charge. However, things haven’t gone according to plan this season.

Despite Liverpool breaking the bank to sign players for over 400 million, the Reds have somehow regressed with their performances this season. This is despite players like Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak joining the club, amongst others.

Liverpool have underperformed severely in the Premier League which sees them in 5th place in the table, and they went into this game against PSG after being knocked out of the FA Cup 4-0 by Man City.


So perhaps, Arne Slot was preparing for damage limitation against PSG ahead of this fixture. The Liverpool boss set up his side in a five-at-the-back formation in their OOP shape hoping to negate PSG, but this left them severely disadvantaged going forward, as they failed to register a single shot on target against PSG at the Parc de Princes.

PSG meanwhile, came into this game on the back of a 3-1 win over Toulouse in Ligue 1. And PSG duly bossed this game against Liverpool on home turf, with the Paris fans in fine voice and in truth, it could have and should have ended with a bigger win in terms of goals instead of just 2-0.

Luis Enrique’s PSG side dominated Liverpool for large spells but missed several chances to put more daylight between themselves and the Reds in this game with the big chances they missed.

In the end, goals from Doue and Kvaratskhelia ensured PSG went ahead with a 2-0 lead into the next leg at Anfield. However, it could have been much worse for Liverpool and many would argue that they should have lost by a bigger margin.

PSG lined up in a 4-3-3 formation. Matvey Safonov started in goal with a back four of Achraf Hakimi at right-back, Marquinhos and Willian Pacho at center-back and Nuno Mendes at left-back. The midfield trio comprised Joao Neves, Vitinha and Warren Zaire-Emery while Desire Doue started down the right, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia down the left and Ousmane Dembele led the line up front.

Liverpool lined up in 3-5-2 shape. Giorgi Mamardashvili started in goal with a back three of Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez at center-back Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez started at right wing-back and left wing-back respectively while the midfield comprised Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai. Meanwhile, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike led the attack.

Slot Deploys Five Man Defense But PSG Dominate

The biggest tweak made by Arne Slot in this game was to deploy a 5-2-3 formation in Liverpool’s OOP shape. The Reds shifted from a 3-5-2 formation on paper to a five-man defense with Frimpong tucking in at right-back alongside the back three as Kerkez was also deployed at left-back. Meawhile, Gravenberch and Mac Allister sat in the midfield pivot as the dual no. 6s while Szoboszlai roamed up the pitch, into the no. 10 and central striker positions off the ball as Wirtz and Ekitike roamed higher alongside Szoboszlai in Liverpool’s front three.

Slot deploys Livepool in a 5-2-3 OOP shape vs PSG’s 3-2-5/3-1-6 IP build up.

Slot was perhaps resorting to back to basic defensive tactics given the Reds were torn apart by Man City in the FA Cup just the game before as Liverpool lost 4-0 and were knocked out of the competition. So Slot was perhaps trying to assert damage limitation against PSG by conceding possession to the Parisian outfit & aiming to stay compact with an extra man at the back and trying to score goals on the break.

Perhaps Slot aimed to take a draw or a narrow 1-0 defeat to Anfield where the Reds would have the backing of Anfield’s proverbial 12th man. However, what played out in this game was Slot’s tactics totally backfiring. PSG dominated with the ball and carved out several openings despite Liverpool’s defensive tactics. Some fans on Twitter, ironically pointed out Slot’s words against other teams playing defensively against Liverpool & then the Dutch manager setting his side up in the same defensive mould against PSG.

PSG Score A Couple But Miss Several Chances

Liverpool’s high press in the opening 15-20 minutes was man-oriented as Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz narrowed centrally to block lanes to Vitinha and Zaire-Emery, while Dominik Szoboszlai joined in the front three pressing and dropping as needed. The Liverpool wing-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez were tasked with jumping aggressively onto Hakimi and Mendes the moment the ball reached them. While the Liverpool CBs were instructed to step up and support the press, creating a 5-2-3 shape that looked compact on paper but left enormous distances once PSG bypassed the first line. Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch sat in a double pivot, but their marking was pulled apart by PSG’s fluid rotations.

PSG countered the Liverpool press by using their full-backs as decoys. Hakimi and Mendes advanced high and wide, pinning Frimpong and Kerkez in advanced positions or forcing them to chase into the last line. This vacated wide pockets behind Liverpool’s front three and the PSG attackers then dropped deep into these half-spaces as Doue had space on the right along with Dembele peeling right as well, and Kvaratskhelia inverting from the left receiving the ball unmarked because Liverpool’s centre-backs were reluctant to track wide as Gomez in particular was repeatedly dragged out of position.

Hakimi and Mendes pin the Liverpool wing-backs Frimpong and Kerkez who jump on them, creating all kinds of space in behind them and out wide for Kvaratskhelia and Doue, against the Liverpool back line.

Vitinha’s ability to delay passes under pressure, take touches, and then release a wing-back or an inverting attacker created side connections that bypassed the Liverpool press entirely. By the 11th minute this approach had already paid dividends. A sequence of quick side-to-side passes and a forward drop from Doue saw his shot deflect off van Dijk and loop over Giorgi Mamardashvili for the opener.

In build-up, PSG deployed a 3-2-5 which became a 3-1-6 in higher phases, which has been Luis Enrique’s typical possession-based approach this season. Vitinha frequently dropped between or alongside the centre-backs to form a temporary back three, acting as the metronome and ticker of PSG’s possession-based game. Joao Neves and Warren Zaire-Emery sat higher in the midfield two, ready to receive on half-turns or push forward. This allowed PSG to maintain a +1 or +2 numerical superiority in the first phase against Liverpool’s front press. Meanwhile, Doue, Kvaratskhelia and Dembele rotated constantly, with Dembele drifting wide or dropping deep, and Doue tucking inside, while Kvaratskhelia inverted, creating dynamic triangles on each flank.

PSG attacked in a 3-1-6 or 3-2-5 as the front three plus both full-backs created six players in the final third. Wide overloads with Hakimi or Mendes pinning the Liverpool wing-backs while an attacker rotated into the vacated channel was the major tactic. Meanwhile, Liverpool’s zonal elements in the wide areas meant unmarked PSG players could receive on the touchline or half-space because the centre-backs refused to vacate the middle.

Hakimi in particular was in a free right-back role as he frequently drifted across the pitch moving into midfield and out wide on the opposite flank as well, causing all sorts of problems for the Liverpool defense. 

Hakimi in the free RB role drifted across the pitch casuing havoc. In this move Hakimi inverts from RB into midfield and then makes a run in behind the vacant space left by Frimpong and behind Konate as Kvaratskhelia cuts inside. Mendes finds a ball down the channel to Hakimi causing a 2v1 vs Konate and stretching the Liverpool back line. Meanwhile Doue peels off on the right as well.

Distances between lines grew, allowing PSG to play around and also through the Liverpool 5-2-3 block.

The 65th-minute second goal exemplified this as Joao Neves split the Liverpool lines with a perfectly weighted vertical pass in between the lines as Kvaratskhelia, who made a clever third-man run off the shoulder of Gravenberch collected the ball in the inside-left channel. He cut inside, evaded the Liverpool defense, rounded Mamardashvili, and finished clinically.

The move combined PSG’s wide play in build-up, and a midfield rotation that left Gravenberch isolated, and highlighted Liverpool’s inability to maintain compactness in their low block.

PSG’s 2nd goal which was a classic third man sequence. Mendes makes a decoy run dragging Konate with him and out of position as Kvaratskhelia makes a run in behind as the third man as Joao Neves finds a perfectly weighted pass breaking the lines into him as he arrives into the box. The Georgian winger cuts inside and rounds the Liverpool keeper to score. 2-0 PSG.

Hakimi and Mendes overlapped relentlessly, creating 4v3 or 4v2 situations on the flanks that Frimpong and Kerkez could not contain without leaving gaps behind. By half-time PSG had created multiple big chances and only Mamardashvili’s saves and Dembele’s wastefulness kept the score at 1-0.

Liverpool Lucky To Only Lose By Two Goal Margin

In the second half PSG maintained their 3-2-5/3-1-6 attacking shape almost permanently fixed in that shape throughout the half and camped in Liverpool’s half. PSG’s rotations became even more pronounced as Doue and Kvaratskhelia switched flanks temporarily, while Dembele dropped deeper to link play, and the midfield trio circulated the ball at high tempo to tire Liverpool’s already leggy defenders.

Liverpool attempted to push higher after the break to gain territory, but this only created more space in behind for PSG counters. Slot’s side grew increasingly reactive, defending with bodies around the box but lacking any coherent structure to regain possession high up. Their three shots which were all off-target came from hopeful long balls or isolated breaks that PSG’s high line and quick recovery easily snuffed out.

PSG continued to create chances in the second half although Slot made some changes and tweaks with his substitutions bringing on Cody Gakpo, Curtis Jones Alexander Isak and Andy Robertson in the 78th minute shifting to a more prominent 4-2-3-1 shape on the ball.

These changes increased Liverpool’s ambition but exposed them further as PSG continued to exploit the same wide pockets and gaps using their rotations. Kerkez and Frimpong, already pinned for most of the match, were forced even wider or deeper, leaving the centre-backs isolated. Konate in particular was repeatedly pulled into uncomfortable wide areas, and almost conceded a couple of penalties, only for them to be overturned by the referee and VAR.

Slot later admitted his approach was born of necessity saying, “When we pressed them high we were ripped apart… The second half of the game for us was more about surviving.” He described the back five as a hybrid that could theoretically resemble a 4-3-3 depending on wing-back positioning, but in practice it became a rigid, man-marking defensive shell that PSG’s rotations rendered ineffective. Van Dijk echoed Liverpool’s “survival” narrative, noting Liverpool defended with “a lot of bodies around the box” but were undone by the deflection on the first goal and the incisiveness of the second.

PSG’s wastefulness in the game and failing to put the tie to bed with multiple big chances missed, kept the tie theoretically alive for Liverpool. However, the gap in performance by both sides was rather telling. In the end, Liverpool were lucky to lose only 2-0 as the tie does have some hope of Liverpool overturning the deficit at Anfield, which is a formidable atmosphere for any away team, including PSG.

Takeaways

PSG dictated the tempo from the first minute, shifting their 4-3-3 into multiple attacking shapes in a 3-2-5/3-1-6 that Liverpool’s 5-2-3 OOP shape simply could not match. Slot’s conservative tweak of deploying a back five which was unfamiliar and untested sacrificed their usual high-intensity verticality that defines Liverpool’s identity, for something more pragmatic. This was Arne Slot proverbially parking the bus but PSG’s wastefulness prevented a heavier scoreline in the end.

For PSG, they will certainly rue their missed chances in putting this tie to bed in the first leg itself. They repeatedly played through the Liverpool back-line using fluid rotations and dominating possession. In the end, Enrique will definitely bemoan his side’s lack of ruthlessness, something they showed against Cheslea. And at 2-0 PSG still have to see out the return leg at Anfield to progress into the semi-finals. However, they do have the advantage as things stand.

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