3 Reasons why Liverpool lost to PSG

In a high profile clash at the Parc Des Princes, PSG took on Liverpool with a potential Round of 16 spot at stake. In the first leg at the Anfield, Liverpool won 3-2 after a memorable injury-time winner by Bobby Firmino and PSG were looking to hit back in the second leg on Wednesday in front of a hostile home crowd.For PSG, Neymar and Mbappe returned after a brief injury layoff and Kehrer was opted to play the right back role over Meunier and the veteran Dani Alves. Tuchel took a bold decision and dropped Rabiot from the midfield. PSG went with a 4-2-3-1 combination with Marquinhos and Veratti as the holding midfielders and Angel Di Maria, Neymar and Mbappe as attacking midfielders.After a thunderous start to the season, Liverpool had lost some steam in the past month and were hoping to prove themselves against a strong opponent. Klopp opted to go with Van Dijk and Lovren as center-backs, with the promising youngster Gomez as the right back. He went with his usual 4-3-3 formation with an experienced midfield trio of Milner, Henderson and Wijnaldum and a potent front three of Mane, Salah, Firmino. PSG dominated possession right from the start and they looked fluent while attacking as Neymar repeatedly found some space in the left wing. At the 13th minute, Neymar picked out Mbappe a few yards outside the box and the Frenchman made a run into the box and took a shot.The ball deflected off a Liverpool defender and Veratti was right on the spot to strike the ball into the left corner. Mbappe once again contributed heavily for PSG’s second goal by passing the ball neatly in close range and Neymar tapped the ball into the nets. Milner scored a penalty before halftime but in the end, PSG won 2-1. Here are the 3 reasons why Liverpool was defeated by PSG.#1 The flaw in Klopp’s Gegen pressingParis Saint-Germain v Liverpool - UEFA Champions League Group CKlopp has always emphasized on possession-based football and the crux of this Liverpool team revolves around Gegen pressing (i.e) pressing hard to win the ball as quickly as possible after losing possession.With the workhorse Milner and the versatile Wijnaldum in the team, Klopp's pressing style has worked for most parts of the season. But on Saturday against a strong PSG lineup, Klopp's methods did not quite work out as planned. PSG crowded their midfield with players who are efficient in passing the ball quickly and thus they rarely lost possession in the 1st half and the Liverpool defenders lost a lot of energy due to hard pressing.The frustration of Liverpool players resulted in them playing much higher up the pitch and thus their defense succumbed to the pacy counterattacks of PSG. Liverpool played much better in the second half but by then the match was firmly in PSG's grasp. Against PSG, Klopp did not have a plan B and he eventually paid the price for it.

3 Reasons why Liverpool lost to PSG

#2 Firmino's role in the team