Liverpool's Triumphant Night In Paris: A 1-0 Win Over PSG

On Wednesday, March 5, 2025, football fans across the world tuned in for the most anticipated match of the first leg of the UEFA Champions League  RO16. Reigning French champion and current Ligue 1 leader, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), faced off against the English Premier League title contender, Liverpool FC. Many expected this to be a thrilling match.

Heading into the match, Liverpool had topped the UCL League Phase, winning 20 out of 28 Premier League games, with 7 draws and just 1 loss. PSG, on the other hand, had dominated Ligue 1 with 19 wins and 5 draws in 24 matches but had to fight their way through the UCL group phase to make it to the last 16.  It was a battle of two giants, a contest where brains not just brawn, would determine the winner. 

The match didn’t quite live up to expectations, as PSG dominated every possible stat and metric, completely outplaying Liverpool FC. Even Ballon D’or contender and Liverpool’s talisman, Mo Salah, had a below-average performance. This continued into the second half until the 79th minute when Arne Slot made a game-changing substitution, bringing in Wataru Endo for Ryan Gravenberch, what fans would later call activated "Endo Time."

Despite PSG's dominance with 65% possession, 91% pass success, and  28 total shots (10 on target, 9 blocked), fortune favoured Liverpool. In the 87th minute, Darwin Nunez’s pass found Harvey Elliot, who slotted it past G. Donnarumma, stealing the win for Liverpool at the Parc Des Princes.

The Man of the Match was awarded to Alisson Becker, who stood as an impenetrable wall, making a total of nine saves and keeping Liverpool in the game.

Despite having the upper hand throughout the game, PSG fell to a single moment of precision from Liverpool. Interestingly,  in the same city of Paris, Liverpool played against Real Madrid in the 2022 UCL final, where Thibaut Courtois made nine saves, and Madrid secured the trophy win with their only shot on target.

March 5,  2025, was a special night for Liverpool FC. With a 2-0 win over Real Madrid and Manchester City, a 4-0 demolition of  Bayer Leverkusen, and now a 1-0 triumph over PSG, they have taken down four reigning champions from Europe’s top five leagues from last season.

It begs the question, is Liverpool the best team in the world right now?

Shittu, Opeyemi Habeeb.