Five things we learned from Liverpool’s thrilling win over PSG

It was another pulsating, enthralling, highly-charged Champions League night under the lights at Anfield, as Liverpool deservedly emerged victorious against Thomas Tuchel’s PSG, with goals from Daniel Sturridge, James Milner and a last-gasp, one-eyed strike from Roberto Firmino.

Although the score-line suggests that PSG came mighty close to taking three points back to Paris with them, the game itself told a different story as a dominant Liverpool side were by far the superior force.

The Reds showed guile, determination and poise in equal measure to brush aside the Parisians, with the likes of Cavani, Neymar and Mbappe barely getting a sniff.

It was another brilliant night as Klopp’s side maintained their 100 per cent record in all competitions at the start of the season, and there were plenty of takeaways.

1. Liverpool at Anfield are an imperious force

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Jürgen Klopp has restored Anfield to a fortress once more. Teams fear coming to play Liverpool on their home turf, and those that say they’re not intimidated are often left eating their words as the Kopites create a whirlpool of emotion that nobody can help but get sucked in by it.

Thomas Tuchel knows all too well how daunting playing at Anfield can be after his experience with Dortmund back in 2016, but his side could not heed his lessons learned as they failed to even get started – and you can’t deny that the crowd had a part to play in that.

The other part that they play so well is acting as a springboard to push Liverpool forward, and the team do it so effectively. You hear members of the squad talking about the impact the Anfield crowd has on them, and it’s never more evident than on nights like this against one of Europe’s superpowers.

2. Solid start defensively continue despite conceding two goals

The fact that PSG managed to score two goals last night should be of little concern to Liverpool fans and Klopp, as the defensive showing from the Reds was largely brilliant once more.

And that’s not just at the back, it was all over the pitch. The forwards, as per usual, harried and harassed PSG’s defenders and midfielders, with Daniel Sturridge covering more than 11 kilometres, which typifies the effort the side put in. The midfield totally overran and overpowered that of the French side, and apart from the two goals, looked assured and resolute throughout.

It could be argued that the first PSG had a large slice of luck about it, with a cross cannoning off Andrew Robertson and falling kindly for Meunier which allowed him to arrow home his effort. The second goal came from an uncharacteristically sloppy bit of play from the Egyptian King, Mo Salah, who played a loose pass inside which was intercepted by PSG, who set Neymar free and he then teed
up Mbappe, who showed his class by wriggling free of Joe Gomez before hammering the ball home.

Other than these two moments, PSG rarely threatened. Some will say that they were simply tame and negative, but this is all because Liverpool went after them from the off and limited them.

There seems to be a resilience about Liverpool this season that we haven’t ever seen before – long may it continue.

3. Daniel Sturridge proves a point and shows that he’s still very valuable to the cause

With Firmino being a big doubt to make the starting XI, it represented a huge opportunity for whoever Klopp decided to pick in his place – and that man was Daniel Sturridge.

Much has and will be written about how crucial Firmino is to Liverpool’s style of play, but Sturridge proved that he too can be a big player this season.

His often maligned work rate could not be faulted; he held the ball up well, he linked play, he made dangerous runs and more importantly – got himself into goal-scoring positions and took one of his chances with aplomb.

It was superb to see his crazy, wavy arm celebration again. Sturridge looked like a player reborn and he has certainly given Klopp something to think about in terms of on-going selection. In the short term, I think Sturridge has earned himself a starting place against Southampton at the weekend, giving Firmino’s eye a bit longer to recover and giving the Brazilian ace a bit more of a breather as Liverpool head deeper into a manic few weeks of the season.

It was just a pleasure to see him back, fitter than Klopp has ever seen him (in his own words) and among the goals.

4. Mo Salah is human after all

Who’d have thought it? Mohamed Salah is a normal human being who makes mistakes and isn’t consistently performing at their best, just like you and I.

Mo perhaps endured one of the most forgettable performances in his short Liverpool career against PSG, but in no way did he perform disastrously.

He was a constant outlet for Liverpool and was a thorn in the side of the PSG defence with his pressing and never-say-die attitude – but he quickly fizzled out in the second half. His loose pass in the 80th minute was the catalyst for a PSG counter-attack which led to Mbappe’s goal – his second sloppy bit of play in the space of a few minutes.

Perhaps his miraculous season last term has set him up for a bit of a comedown this term, as everyone is expecting him to perform those miracles all over again. It’ll be nothing short of incredible if he is able to replicate that form consistently again and it would thrust him into the elite bracket seemingly only reserved for Ronaldo and Messi should he pull it off.

Yet he is not playing badly at all. He’s just not quite as sharp as he was last season, and I think he looks a bit tired. A rest against Southampton at the weekend could do him good, getting 20 minutes at the end to stretch his legs to keep his eye in.

All this nonsense about him not being a team player too, that can stop. Do you think Klopp would tolerate that in his squad? Nope. So let’s nip that in the bud right away. Salah, like Sadio Mané before him, is just experiencing a little lull away from the usual dizzying heights we’re used to seeing him at – that doesn’t make him a bad player entirely. He’ll be back to his scintillating best before we know it.

5. James Milner for Ballon D’Or

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: James Milner scores for Liverpool during the Champions League match between Liverpool FC and Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield on September 18, 2018 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Getty Images)

At 32-years-old, most professional footballers might start to think about their retirement a bit more regularly, and perhaps start winding down in terms of their intensity as they can’t keep up with the youngsters anymore.

Not James Milner.

The mercurial midfield maestro put in another wonderful performance under the lights at Anfield and underlined his importance to Jürgen Klopp.

It was another of his tackles that led to Firmino’s winning goal. It was his ice-cool penalty that put Liverpool 2-0 up in the first half. It was his crunching tackle on Neymar that set the tone early on in the game.

And that’s just it with Milner; he sets the tone and the standard for everyone at the club along with his other midfield general, Jordan Henderson. He is a beacon of professionalism and elite athleticism that he shows no signs of giving up at any stage.

He’s like a fine wine made from the same fruit as he beloved Ribena that continues to get better with age. And long may it continue.

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