Ally McCoist has given his ‘brutally honest’ verdict on whether he thinks Liverpool can overturn the 2-0 deficit from the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain.
The Reds have it all to do at Anfield next Tuesday if they’re to maintain their last lingering hope of winning a trophy this season, but it could’ve been a whole lot worse if it weren’t for some fine saves from Giorgi Mamardashvili and some sloppy finishing from PSG.
Christophe Dugarry had bullishly remarked that the French side would kill off the tie in the first leg, and although they’re certainly in a commanding position, the two-goal margin would appear to offer LFC some mildly plausible hope of going through.
Speaking on co-commentary for TNT Sports, McCoist felt that Liverpool were a tad fortunate to come away with a 2-0 defeat tonight, but he’s still giving them a chance of pulling off another famous European comeback.
He said (via BBC Sport): “I’ll be brutally honest – it could have been worse for Liverpool. Are they in the tie for the next leg at Anfield? You better believe they are.”
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Had PSG scored even one more goal tonight, it would’ve felt like an insurmountable task for the Reds next week, even with a raucous Anfield crowd behind them. At 2-0, it’s still a very tall order, but it at least seems as though there’s a glimmer of hope that the comeback can happen.
There were a few sliding doors moments for Liverpool at the Parc des Princes – the saves from Mamardashvili; the (correct) decision to overturn a penalty which had originally been given against Ibrahima Konate; the one which could’ve been given against him in stoppage time but wasn’t.
The tie is in that delicate position whereby an early goal for the Reds at Anfield could swing momentum their way, but one for PSG would almost certainly kill off any lingering chances of a night to rival Barcelona in 2019.
Considering that Luis Enrique’s side had 18 shots to our three tonight, to come away with 2-0 isn’t completely disastrous. It’s not ideal, and it’ll still take an extraordinary performance next week for LFC to advance, but at least we’ll return to Merseyside with a somewhat plausible chance of earning a semi-final berth.
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