Liverpool vs PSG starting XIs: Champions League quarterfinal 2nd leg
The Egyptian King, Mohamed Salah, will leave Anfield at the end of the season, and knows this could be his last Champions League game.
Mohamed Salah has spent years owning the headlines and drawing virtually all the attention – and he is still doing so in recent weeks. It is not so much his goals or performances that are putting the spotlight on the Egyptian forward now (although he did score against Fulham on Saturday). It is his farewell. Liverpool’s third-highest scorer of all time is living through his final nights at Anfield. On March 24, he announced that he will leave the English club at the end of the season, bringing to a close a nine-year spell in which he became a Reds legend.
It has been close to a decade of remarkable success. Along with a long list of individual honors, Salah helped Liverpool win two League Cups, one FA Cup, two Premier League titles and one Champions League. On Tuesday, the Egyptian could play his final minutes in Europe’s top club competition. Salah – and Liverpool themselves – are not ready to say goodbye to the Champions League just yet. The task, though, looks difficult. Goals from Désiré Doué and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia last week at the Parc des Princes mean PSG arrive at Anfield holding a comfortable advantage.
Under the lights at Anfield ✊ pic.twitter.com/nmqZ2miBmV
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 13, 2026
There have been famous Champions League comebacks on the banks of the Mersey, especially when the Reds overturned a 3-0 deficit against Barcelona in 2019. Salah didn’t play. That year, Liverpool conquered Europe. It feels like a distant memory now. Neither the team nor Salah himself has been at his best. Confidence is in short supply after a poor season. Clouds are gathering over Arne Slot, who impressed in his debut campaign and has disappointed in this one. The Dutchman’s side has shown two very different faces across his two years at Anfield.
Liverpool have strung together one disappointment after another, including the first-leg defeat in the playoff against Galatasaray, a draw with a free-falling Tottenham and a humiliating FA Cup exit at the hands of Manchester City. The first leg of the quarterfinals four days later followed the same pattern. The English side turned in another poor display, even if the scoreline was kinder to them this time. Ousmane Dembélé had as many as three clear chances to score but failed to take any of them.
The French side will arrive fresher after reaching an agreement with Ligue 1 not to play their weekend game, giving them extra time to prepare for the trip to Anfield. Lens, the opponent for that postponed fixture, protested the decision, as did others because of its impact on the title race. Liverpool, by contrast, did play. They did their best work in the first half. With a vintage display, Slot’s team beat Fulham with two goals before halftime. They came under some pressure after the break but managed to keep a clean sheet. It was only the smallest injection of confidence, but that is all the Scouse faithful can cling to.
A teenager stole the show in that game. Seventeen-year-old Rio Ngumoha broke the deadlock and became the youngest player ever to score at Anfield in the Premier League. He also played a part in Salah’s goal four minutes later. The academy product brought the freshness and energy Liverpool have lacked this season, and his name quickly entered the conversation over the starting lineup Slot could choose against PSG. Disciplined in the press, Ngumoha never shied away from demanding the ball and did not back down from any one-on-one duel with Fulham’s defense. That fearlessness could serve Liverpool well.
So would finally cutting out the defensive mistakes that have been tearing their season apart. Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté no longer offer the certainty they once did, nor does using Dominik Szoboszlai at right back. The Hungarian has been one of Liverpool’s bright spots this season, one of their most consistent performers, even while playing out of position. PSG hope to exploit those weaknesses. They have the attacking quality to do it, as they showed in the first leg in Paris. The reigning European champions are the favorites to reach a semifinal against Bayern Munich or Real Madrid. Their only absence is Fabián Ruiz. They have won eight of their last 10 games. They are charging ahead.
Liverpool vs PSG: possible lineups
Liverpool (4-3-3): 25 Mamardashvili; 8 Szoboszlai, 4 Van Dijk, 5 Konaté, 6 Kerkez; 10 Mac Allister, 38 Gravenberch; 73 Ngumoha, 7 Wirtz, 11 Salah; 22 Ekitiké.
Bench: Woodman (goalkeeper), Misciur (goalkeeper), Robertson, Gomez, Frimpong, Jones, Nyoni, Chiesa, Gakpo, Isak.
PSG (4-3-3): 39 Safonov; 2 Hakimi, 51 Pacho, 5 Marquinhos, 25 Mendes; 33 Zaïre-Emery, 17 Vitinha, 87 Neves; 14 Doué, 10 Dembélé, 7 Kvaratskhelia.
Bench: Chevalier (goalkeeper), Marin (goalkeeper), Hernández, Zabarnyi, Beraldo, Fernández, Lee, Mayulu, Ramos, Mbaye.
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