Liverpool 0-1 PSG: 4 things we learned from electric Champions League tie | OneFootball

Liverpool and PSG went the distance on Tuesday night, and Gianluigi Donnarumma saved two Reds spot-kicks in the shootout to send Luis Enrique's side into the Champions League quarter-finals.

The visitors were forced to dig deep after taking an early lead through Ousmane Dembele, with Arne Slot's side enjoying their first periods of sustained pressure in the tie throughout the second half.

There were subtle switches in momentum, and PSG remained a threat throughout before coming on the strongest towards the end of the extended period. From the spot, the Ligue 1 leaders were perfect while Donnarumma denied Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones to send Enrique's men through.

Their display on Merseyside wasn't quite as dazzling compared to what they produced in Paris, but PSG's performance across the two legs showed they have what it takes to go all the way.

Here are four things we learned from the second leg at Anfield.

PSG proved just how good they are in this tie / Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/GettyImages

How many times have we seen PSG teams fold in these sorts of environments over the years? Behind in the tie with Anfield facilitating a ferocious Liverpool start, outfits of yesteryear surely would've succumbed.

But, once again, this Luis Enrique-led outfit proved they're made of sterner stuff. After dominating last week's first leg before losing late, PSG had to offer grit and dogged box defending in a bid to preserve their early lead.

We've enjoyed PSG with bigger names boasting greater allure, but never have they boasted such supreme cohesion. All the tropes used to beat previous iterations are starting to fade thanks to Enrique's excellent coaching and PSG's philosophical shift in a post-Kylian Mbappe world. This is a brilliant team to watch, with their telepathy in possession matched by unrelenting running out of it.

This isn't just about Dembele's remarkable form or the familiar name of Marquinhos who has perpetually endured heartbreak in this competition, but the emerging brilliance of Willian Pacho, their fiying wing-backs who contribute at both ends, as well as the small frames in the middle of the park who pack a punch laden with guile.

Oh, and how about the teenager, Desire Doue, who won it from 12 yards? They're the best on the continent right now.

Donnarumma the penalty shootout hero... again

Donnarumma saved two spot kicks in the shootout / Julian Finney/GettyImages

Seeing Gianluigi Donnarumma fly about in a penalty shootout is a sight no English football fan needs reminding of.

While Liverpool boast one of the world's best goalkeepers in Alisson, he doesn't quite possess the aura of the 6'4 Italian when you're walking up and trying to beat him from 12 yards. The Brazilian got a glove on Vitinha's far-too-cool opening spot kick but was emphatically beaten by the rest. On the contrary, Donnarumma flung himself to his left then right to deny Nunez and Jones respectively. His save from the latter was particularly brilliant.

The Italian's heroics helped PSG to their first ever penalty shootout victory in any UEFA competition, and they arrived after he overcame a poor start to produce a sound, mistake-free performance littered with efficient punches to nullify the threat of Liverpool's deliveries into the box.

Liverpool's supporting cast fails to fire

Diogo Jota struggled on Tuesday night / Julian Finney/GettyImages

Arne Slot's proactivity has been lauded in year one of his Liverpool tenure, and it was a surprise it took the Dutchman as long as he did to turn to his bench.

On a night when Nuno Mendes outscored Mohamed Salah on points after his TKO victory last week, Liverpool could've done with one of the Egyptian's supporting acts to step up. Slot opted for Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota here with Dominik Szoboszlai providing relentless running power from midfield.

The Hungarian was impressive, but Diaz and Jota struggled to fill the void left by a subdued Salah. Jota has endured a stop-start campaign, and he was no match for a PSG backline that commanded their box superbly. While he drew a couple of second-half fouls to get Liverpool up the pitch, he barely had a sight of goal and often struggled to knit things together on the counter.

Diaz was willing, no doubt, and typically spritely, but the decisiveness Reds supporters so often enjoy from the right seldom arrived down the opposite flank. At crucial moments, the Colombian hesitated.

Salah's inevitability this season has masked potential shortcomings within Liverpool's attacking arsenal, and Tuesday's second leg showed that a couple of Slot's forwards can be upgraded upon.

Much more than a dribbler / Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/GettyImages

You associate the former Napoli winger who's quickly hit the ground running in Paris with dazzling footwork and a throwback aesthetic. However, Kvaratskhelia's willingness to work out of possession is a criminally underrated aspect of his stellar skill set.

There's a reason Antonio Conte was so keen to build his Napoli team around the 2022/23 Serie A MVP. Not only is he immensely talented in possession, but he's willing to run himself into the ground in a bid to contribute to the collective.

His selflessness has seen him fit in with ease into Enrique's framework. He was majestic in the first leg without reward, and there were a few sequences on Tuesday which typified Kvaratskhelia's workhorse nature. The winger snapped back at Alexis Mac Allister fairly in the first half, supplying a challenge on the Argentine which produced a response from the Kop. Then, when PSG's backs were against the wall in the second half, Kvaratskehlia was alert from a set-piece to deny Salah's goalbound effort from restoring parity on the night.

A manager's dream.