Luis Enrique has warned his Paris Saint-Germain side to expect ‘moments of hardship’ at Anfield on Tuesday night as they take on Liverpool in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
PSG carry a 2-0 lead into the fixture on Merseyside, a margin which could easily have been much bigger were it not for wastefulness on their part and some fine saves from Giorgi Mamardashvili last week.
Opta calculations rate their chances of advancing to the semi-finals at 85.8%, and the European champions have already racked up 36 goals in 13 matches in the tournament this season, with their firepower further enhanced by Bradley Barcola’s return to the matchday squad for tomorrow.
While Enrique’s side will naturally be huge favourites to progress, the Spaniard is refusing to take Liverpool lightly and is mindful of how radically the fate of the tie could shift with the Reds buoyed by the power of Anfield.
He said in today’s pre-match press conference (via PSG.fr): “We know how difficult this game will be against a team of Liverpool’s level, away from home, in this competition. It will be difficult, that’s clear to us, and we know there will be moments of hardship. I think tomorrow will be a very tight match, and we’ll need to be ready to overcome those difficult moments.
“In modern football, the course of a match can change very quickly. In the space of five minutes, you can score two goals or concede two. For me, it’s a tricky game. It’s true that we were superior in the first leg, but football moves very fast. The tie is still open, and that’s why we have to prepare for this match in the same way as usual.”
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Enrique is far too experienced to fall into the trap of publicly underestimating Liverpool, and many will dismiss his comments as standard diplomacy.
However, he’ll also be aware that PSG have previous for frittering away commanding first-leg leads in Champions League knockout ties, with collapses against Barcelona in 2017 (from 4-0 up) and Manchester United two years later immediately springing to mind.
Those examples relate to teams which bear little resemblance to the current crop, but the weight of history can be difficult to escape, and the Reds’ reputation for producing legendary second-leg fightbacks is well-known throughout Europe.
Enrique’s team are capable of blowing Liverpool out of the water, just as they did to Chelsea last month, and most neutrals would understandably fancy them to finish the job at Anfield tomorrow night.
However, if Arne Slot’s team can pinch an early goal and rouse the home support even further, it could make for a very uncomfortable night for PSG, who for all their undoubted quality would be incredibly naive to take their opponents for granted.
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