PSG ready for Liverpool challenge

PARIS St GERMAIN will be hoping to impose their game on Liverpool to avoid getting hit by the Merseyside’s attacking “fighter jets” when both teams face off in their Champions League last 16 first leg today.

PSG had a struggling start to the season but found their stride in late 2024 to win 18 of their last 20 competitive matches, having drawn the other two.

The French side have also scored 21 goals in their last four games and qualified through the Champions League play-offs with a 10-0 aggregate victory against fellow Ligue 1 club Stade Brestois.

In Liverpool, however, they take on one of the most formidable teams in Europe, which is for PSG coach Luis Enrique a “source of motivation.”

“It will be intense.

“On paper, it is one of the best matches you can watch in Europe.

“They are one of the best teams in terms of counter attacking,” Luis Enrique told a press conference yesterday.

“We have to be careful that we don’t suffer from their transitions. They have three fighter jets in attack, it’s not easy to stop them if we don’t impose our game on them.”

While he would not elaborate on the departments in which he feels PSG are superior to Liverpool, the Spanish coach hinted that the Ligue 1 champions would be dangerous if they can dominate possession.

“We will need the ball.

“Maybe, we are not as tough physically but we are one of the best teams in possession in Europe,” he added.

PSG have no injury concerns going into the contest, which will be settled at Anfield next Tuesday.

“The first game will not determine who gets through,” Luis Enrique said.

“If we were to lose at home and then win (and qualify) at Anfield, of course I would take that.”

Liverpool coach, Arne Slot, however, says Liverpool have nothing to fear at the Parcdes Princes as he pre-pares his Premier League title favourites for a blockbuster Champions League clash.

The six-time European champions lost on both their previous visits to PSG, in 1997 and 2018.

But Liverpool have been beaten just four times in all competitions this season and only once in the Champi-ons League — against PSV Eindhoven in their final league-phase game, when they had already qualified for the last 16.

The Reds finished first in the league phase with seven wins from eight games, including a 2-0 success against holders Real Madrid, and have been equally dominant on the domestic stage.

Inspired by the sublime form of Egypt forward Mohamed Salah, Slot’s men are 13 points clear at the top of the Premier League as they close in on a record-equalling 20th English title.

Liverpool can also win the first trophy of the Slot era when they face Newcastle in the League Cup final at Wembley on March 16.

With 20 victories, the Reds have won more league games than any team in Europe’s top five leagues so far this season.

After a recent wobble, Liverpool got back on track with a pair of 2-0 wins against Manchester City and New-castle that took them a giant step closer to Premier League glory.

They also benefited from a weekend off to rest before the PSG tie due to their early exit from the FA Cup.

No wonder Slot made it clear Liverpool have no reason to feel any trepidation about their trip to Paris.

“Do we fear PSG? We don’t fear anybody.

“But I’m impressed by their quality, they are on an upwards curve a bit similar to ours at the moment,” he said.

“I don’t think the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, Real Madrid fear opponents.

“But we definitely respect them and there’s a reason for that. They won so many games in a row and they have so many quality players,” he said.— Reuters.