Liverpool analysis: Future looks bright for Reds despite UCL heartbreak

Liverpool’s Champions League journey came to a bitter end after a hard-fought battle with PSG, as the French side triumphed on penalties at Anfield.

Despite the heartbreak, there were plenty of positives for Arne Slot’s men, with standout performances and glimpses of a bright future.

As they now shift their focus to domestic success, Sports News Blitz writer Jack Burgess reflects on what’s next for the Reds.

Painful exit, promising future

Liverpool were eliminated by PSG in the Champions League round of 16 in midweek after being outclassed over the two legs by the French side.

The Reds drew 1-1 in the tie, lost 1-0 on the night before succumbing to a 4-1 defeat on penalties at Anfield.

With victory, PSG became one of the few sides to talk Liverpool down in the build-up yet come away from Anfield unscathed.

Alisson Becker’s performance deserved better but it wasn’t to be for the Reds as Darwin Nunez’s shootout miss made the headlines.

Only time will tell if the defeat proves to be a stepping stone to greater things in Europe for this Liverpool side, but the Reds will take solace from a trip to Wembley for the League Cup final against Newcastle on Sunday.

PSG outstanding (except that fan with the whistle)

With the riches behind PSG, their victory over Liverpool is hardly a fairytale.

But credit where credit is due, the Parisians were outstanding.

Pre-match talk focused on the confidence PSG players had in overcoming the suffocating Anfield atmosphere and claiming redemption for the robbery of the first leg.

Those on Merseyside had seen this kind of talk before.

When a team underestimates the power of Anfield, talks about how confident they are of victory, this typically results in that team wilting on L4.

But this was not that kind of night, and fair play to PSG for being one of the few teams to back it up.

Across the two legs, PSG accumulated an xG of 5.33 to Liverpool 1.98.

But even those who aren’t nerds could see that PSG were a real proposition for Liverpool.

They may have shed the superstars of Neymar, Mbappe, and Messi in recent years, but this has created more balance for the French side.

The exploits of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and co demonstrated these losses have not come at the expense of flair, whilst their defensive performance at Anfield was arguably more impressive.

Out of possession, PSG forced Liverpool outside where Luis Diaz was ineffective with the ball - but very effective at making time slow down for the Reds - much to the delight of Luis Enrique.

Whilst Reds may feel aggrieved to be drawn against such a competitive side after topping the group phase, Liverpool would have had to play PSG at some point, probably, and I doubt we would have defeated them anyway.

The Parisians look like a good bet to secure only the third European trophy in France’s history (Marseille Champions League 1993, PSG European Cup Winners Cup 1996).

The only disappointing thing about PSG was that pr**k with the whistle in their away end.

I can just about tolerate the megaphone, but who brings a whistle to a football match?

Honestly.

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A tale of two goalkeepers

Alisson Becker will feel like the unluckiest man in L4 after being eliminated by PSG.

The Brazilian quite rightly stole all the headlines in the scarcely-believable first leg in Paris.

Unfazed by the onslaught of the Parisians, the 32-year-old’s stunning display helped Liverpool pull-off one of the biggest smash and grab victories the Champions League has ever seen with nine saves.

With a further seven shots stopped at Anfield, the goalkeeper made the most saves across a European tie since Manuel Neuer's exploits against Real Madrid in 2017.

As Vitinha’s tame penalty slipped agonisingly past Liverpool’s number one to open the shootout, the writing was on the wall for the Reds.

Alisson couldn’t save us anymore.

The magic in his hands wore thin in the end and it’s a travesty that such an iconic display will not be rewarded with the trophy in May.

Though tarnished by the result, Alisson’s performance will live on eternally, even if it won’t have the same ramifications as his last-minute save against Napoli in 2019.

If the tie belonged to Alisson overall, the night belonged to Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Whilst perhaps not as eye-catching, the Italian reaffirmed his status as one of the best penalty stoppers in world football.

The 26-year-old has now saved seven of the 12 penalties he has faced during shootouts on English soil.

After failing to stop Liverpool’s sole shot on target a week ago, Donnarumma silenced any critics with a resilient shootout display that sent the travelling Parisians into raptures.

(Don’t worry Caoimhin Kelleher, you’re still the number one penalty stopper in my eyes.)

Nunez makes the headlines again

The more Darwin Nunez plays at Anfield, the more I find myself distracted in the stands.

As the Uruguayan comes on, I stop following the action on the pitch and instead begin looking for the man with a huge butterfly net searching for the enigmatic striker.

The last 10 days for Nunez have been a microcosm of the 25-year-old’s Liverpool career.

Flashes of brilliance, red mist and chaos.

Despite recent criticism, the number nine responded with a stellar cameo in Paris, with his knockdown and lay-off for Harvey Elliot helping the Reds snatch victory.

On Saturday, Nunez followed that up with a real Jekyll and Hyde performance at home to Southampton.

The first half saw the Uruguayan fittingly misplace his kick out at Kyle Walker-Peters to escape red before inspiring Liverpool to victory in the second.

I wrote recently about how vital Nunez would be in the business end of the season in spite of recent criticism, but I perhaps overlooked the negatives of this impact.

Nunez’s latest display was bizarre. The standout moment being when he chased down a long punt on the left-wing before quickly vacating the area without the ball for no apparent reason.

Of course, the 25-year-old may be scapegoated for his crucial miss in the shootout, but we wouldn’t have been nearly as close to dumping PSG out without his contributions at the Parc de Princes.

There’s still plenty of time for Nunez memories to be forged before his time at Anfield ends.

The hope is that the good ones outweigh the bad.

Trent Alexander-Arnold masterclass cut short?

For a brief moment, Trent Alexander-Arnold looked like he was about to take the game by the scruff of the neck and put in a performance befitting of a local lad playing a European night at Anfield.

The right-back was marauding forward with increasing intent and was becoming more influential on proceedings.

But in the end, the Reds were robbed of a potentially-memorable European display.

Liverpool’s momentum was halted after the 26-year-old challenged Vitninha to the ball, sending him flying into the advertising boards and leading to his untimely substitution on 71 minutes.

Whilst Quansah was solid, Trent’s passing range was sorely missed after his departure and could have made the difference.

Alexander-Arnold will always be remembered for his quickly-taken corner against Barcelona in 2019.

But as I made my way home after the game, the sight of Trent keeled over, arse in the air against the advertising boards was firmly etched in my mind.

For a brief period, I didn’t notice TAA was still down and had assumed Bet365 had selected his arse as part of a bold marketing campaign.

In what could be the scouser’s final European act at Anfield, it was a sad ending for the vice-captain.

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The future is bright?

Some have taken the Reds’ exit positively, as a tough lesson on the way to greater European triumphs for Liverpool 2.0.

There are certainly signs that they can challenge next year.

After all, they did defeat the Champions of Germany, Spain and France before eventually falling to PSG over two legs.

However, I am not as optimistic about the future as I am about the present.

Early setbacks under Jurgen Klopp were painful but were often tinted with the sense that the best was yet to come.

Defeat in Basel 2016 and Kyiv 2018 fuelled the fire that would send Liverpool to future Champions League and Premier League glory.

With the uncertainty surrounding the contracts of our star trio, I’m not sure how soon better days in Europe will arrive.

Salah’s tears, Virgil Van Dijk’s discussions with PSG personnel after the game, and the sight of Trent limping off were all timely reminders of what could be lost next season.

Moreover, even if we keep them, future heirs are needed to begin replenishing the former who are both into their 30s now.

And that’s ignoring the futures of Nunez, Diaz and Diogo Jota, all of whom’s recent performances suggest they aren’t quite capable of matching the standards set by their predecessors Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.

A big summer awaits for Liverpool if they want to challenge in Europe again, and it might be Liverpool 3.0 by the time they get there.

The immediate future though, is bright.

On my long way back to the train station, a fellow Red reminded me of this fact:

“It’s alright lads. We’ll win the league. Wembley on Sunday.

Could be worse, you could be a blue.”

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