Paris Saint-Germain’s history in the Champions League was, until Tuesday, one of failure. It was a decade-plus of collapses and crashes, of colossal expectations unmet. It was megastars who never jelled and superteams who underwhelmed, so much so that, in 2024, the last of the stars left. And without them?
PSG, on Tuesday, proved that it is better.
It stunned Liverpool with an early goal, erased an unlucky first-leg deficit, and knocked the Premier League leaders out of the Champions League. It won the second leg, 1-0, and won the tie on penalties.
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The players who remained, who were once overshadowed by stars like Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi, buzzed around Anfield on an unforgettable night. They played with fire but also with poise, and got the result that their first-leg dominance merited.
In that first leg last week, Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson was immense. PSG outshot the Reds 27-2 … and somehow lost 1-0. Most players — most humans — would have been demoralized by the outcome. Most fans who’d experienced the decade of failure probably felt: here we go again.
But PSG’s response was different. PSG’s players reportedly walked around their dressing room and told one another: We’ll win next week. Because they had proven that night, and confirmed once again on Tuesday, that they are one of the best teams in the world.
Ousmane Dembélé, once branded a flop at multiple clubs, once renowned for his erratic finishing, scored his 24th goal of the last three months to put PSG ahead in the 12th minute.
Liverpool threatened, constantly, and struck the inside of two different posts, but the Parisians, for 120 minutes, held strong.
And then they stepped up to their penalties, unflappably, to send Liverpool packing.
Vitinha opened the shootout with a creep, and rolled a pass past Alisson, as calm as could be.
Gonçalo Ramos, sent onto the field cold in stoppage time of extra time, then converted with ease.
Ousmane Dembélé, ice cold as ever, began his approach like a left-footer, then looped around the ball and scored with his right.
And Gianluigi Donnarumma, PSG’s massive but mistake-prone keeper, denied Darwin Nuñez and Curtis Jones.
Désiré Doué, all of 19 years old, finished the job with PSG’s fourth kick. And a cast of new stars sprinted toward him. Dembélé jumped into the arms of head coach Luis Enrique, who has masterminded the transformation of PSG from a superteam into a good team.
He has empowered Dembélé, Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes, Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz. He has integrated new signings like William Pacho and João Neves. They are the new stars, the ones whose names weren’t widely known when they arrived in Paris last summer.
They haven’t replaced Mbappé, who jumped to Real Madrid in June. But they have allowed PSG to reboot without him. They have enabled a fearsome press, one that Mbappé essentially refused to partake in. And the result? PSG still hasn’t lost in France this season.
Now it has outlasted Liverpool. It will likely get Aston Villa in the Champions League quarters. It was written off as a contender long ago, but now, it is writing a new story. This is a team reborn, a team that is hitting its stride at an opportune moment, and one that could absolutely do what Mbappé and Neymar never did.
