PSG knock out Liverpool

Paris Saint-Germain ended Liverpool’s Champions League run on Tuesday night, winning 2-0 at Anfield to reach the semifinals. (uefa.com) Ousmane Dembélé scored in the 72nd minute and again in stoppage time, turning a tense second leg into a 4-0 aggregate victory for the defending European champions. (espn.com) Liverpool came into April 14 trailing 2-0 from the first leg in Paris on April 8, when Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored at Parc des Princes. (espn.com) The tie stayed scoreless for more than 70 minutes at Anfield, and Liverpool briefly thought it had a way back when referee Maurizio Mariani awarded a penalty in the second half before overturning it after video review. (espn.com) That result sends Paris Saint-Germain into the final four on the top half of the bracket, where Luis Enrique’s team will face either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid. The semifinal first legs are scheduled for April 28 and 29, with second legs on May 5 and 6. (uefa.com) (espn.com) Paris Saint-Germain are trying to become only the second club to retain the trophy in the Champions League era, after Real Madrid’s run of three straight titles from 2016 to 2018. (espn.com) For Liverpool, the exit closes a two-leg matchup that flipped quickly. Arne Slot’s side had beaten Galatasaray 4-1 on aggregate in the round of 16, but created too little across 180 minutes against a Paris team that had already eliminated Chelsea. (uefa.com) (espn.com) Anfield had staged Liverpool comebacks before, including against Barcelona in 2019, but this second leg never turned into that kind of surge. Dembélé’s first goal quieted the stadium, and his second finished the job. (espn.com)