PSG given positive omen as UEFA pick referee for Champions League RO16 return leg against Liverpool | OneFootball

PSG will try to overturn a one-goal deficit against Liverpool on Tuesday at Anfield to qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals. Arne Slot’s Reds lead 1-0 on aggregate courtesy of Harvey Elliott’s 87th-minute winner. The Premier League runaway leaders were indebted to a supreme goalkeeping performance from Alisson Becker with the Brazilian international pulling out nine saves. Liverpool struggled to contain PSG’s counter-pressing and they should expect the same on Tuesday.

As for the identity of the official overseeing proceedings at Anfield, PSG can take positives from the appointment of Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs. The 40-year-old is used to refereeing Champions League games involving Les Parisiens. He oversaw last season’s Champions League quarter-finals return leg between Barcelona and PSG. At the time, Les Parisiens needed to wipe out a one-goal deficit to qualify for the semi-finals. Kovacs notably handed red cards to Barcelona centre-back Ronald Araujo and head coach Xavi. PSG won 4-1 at Montjuic.

Kovacs has only refereed one Champions League game involving Liverpool. It was the Champions League RO16 first leg between Jürgen Klopp’s Reds and Real Madrid. The Premier League side raced to a 2-0 lead before Carlo Ancelotti turned the game and the tie on its head with a 5-goal blitz.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval