- Liverpool were eliminated from the Champions League after losing to PSG
- Jamie Carragher thought Liverpool were going to win ‘comfortably’ after 20mins
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! With the Premier League likely securing five Champions League spots, are we rewarding mediocrity?
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has given his honest assessment of the Reds’ Champions League exit following their defeat by Paris Saint-Germain.
Carragher said he felt ‘deflated’ after the defeat at Anfield but conceded the better side progressed following Tuesday’s penalty shootout.
The 47-year-old, who watched the game on the Kop with his friends, reflected on the match and how it slipped away from Arne Slot’s side.
Carragher felt Liverpool dominated the first 20 minutes of the game and looked set to win ‘comfortably’ before ‘running out of steam’.
Ousmane Dembele pounced on a defensive mix up early on to put PSG 1-0 up, having lost Liverpool by the same margin during the first leg.
The Reds did their best to bounce back, but failed to break down PSG’s resilient defence – which meant the tie had to be decided on penalties.
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has given his honest assessment of the Reds’ Champions League exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain
Carragher watched the match from the Kop before speaking on CBS’ coverage after the game
The ex-Liverpool defender was at the game as a fan and saw his team crash out at Anfield
Gianluigi Donnarumma shone for PSG, saving penalties from Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones before Desire Doue slotted home the winning spot-kick.
Speaking about the result after the game, Carragher told CBS: ‘I am a bit deflated about the result but listen, the best team won – PSG.
‘We saw how they performed in the first leg to make it 1-0. I called it a robbery. In this game, I thought the first 20 minutes to half an hour, I felt like Liverpool were going to go on and win the game comfortably. They just couldn’t get that goal early on. They had two or three chances they didn’t put away, then PSG got that goal.
‘For the rest of the game, it felt nip and tuck. In extra time, it just felt like PSG took over really. Where I was in the Kop, we were all just desperate and hanging on for penalties really. But even that wasn’t a given – it’s a lottery and anything can happen.’
Despite the disappointment, Carragher praised the atmosphere at Anfield, describing how the crowd did everything they could to push the team over the line.
‘Listen, the atmosphere was brilliant tonight,’ he said. ‘I was in the Kop with my mates but we just didn’t get the goal to go mad. I think we had a couple—there was one disallowed, I think, and one hitting the inside of the post, so we were going mad then.
‘I thought in the second half, we were attacking the Kop and I thought that would be a little omen that we would get the winning goal, but we just ran out of steam. We were just hanging on really.’
Carragher also took time to credit PSG’s key performers, particularly their midfield and defensive efforts in containing Liverpool’s attack.
‘I thought the left-back [Nuno Mendes] against Salah was outstanding again. He’s been brilliant in the two games. I think the two midfield players, Vitinha and Neves, were brilliant.
‘I thought for the first sort of hour, maybe a little bit more—maybe 70 minutes—it was a brilliant game from both sides.’
Liverpool will now turn their attention to domestic competitions, with the Champions League dream over for this season. The Reds face Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.
PSG, meanwhile, advance to the quarter-finals, hoping to finally secure European glory. The French side will face either Aston Villa or Club Brugge in the last eight.
