Jimmy Algérino, a former Paris Saint-Germain defender (1996-2001), spoke to L’Equipe about the Champions League Round of 8 first leg clash between PSG and Liverpool on Wednesday March 5 (return leg on Tuesday March 11), which the Reds won 0-1. And there’s a sense of pride, mixed with a certain amount of regret.
Algerino: “It really hurts to dominate for an hour and not score.
“Already, we can say that the result of the match is PSG 0 – Alisson 1! Because, in addition to all his extraordinary saves, the Brazilian keeper was at the start of the Reds’ goal, with his long clearance (87th). After that, it’s true that over the last twenty minutes, PSG began to look a little less compact and less effective in duels, leaving a little more space for their opponents.
PSG, for their part long impressive in the game, fell back into their early LDC ways ?
It’s true that there were all the feats of Alisson. But there were also, and above all, the big chances missed by Joao Neves and Bradley Barcola, who shot over when Alisson was in the thick of the action. Having the ball and dominating the game for an hour, only to fail to score, really hurts.
Algerino “It will depend above all on the Reds’ attitude”.
What makes you think we can still qualify for the second leg ?
Of course, you might think that the Parisians missed their chance. It will depend above all on the attitude of the Reds, who have a lot of certainties at Anfield and will certainly not play the same game. If they get carried away, it will be very complicated. But if they’re cautious, PSG could be in with a chance… ”
Indeed, Alisson played an XXL match, “the match of his life” as he put it. That’s the way it is, you have to congratulate your opponents. We’re at the highest level and exceptional performances are possible. Paris were incredible collectively, while Liverpool were able to hold out thanks to their keeper.
PSG also lacked vision in certain goal situations. We’ll have to do even better in the return leg if we’re not to come away frustrated. But there’s no denying that they’ve got a very good foundation. You can make up for 1 goal in a hurry. PSG should still be putting on a lot of pressure, without rushing into anything. It remains to be seen whether Liverpool are willing and able to play higher than they did in the first leg.
