Roberto Firmino scored in the second minute of injury time against Paris Saint-Germain to ensure Liverpool opened their Champions League account for the season with three points. Last year’s finalists had led 2-0 through Daniel Sturridge and a James Milner penalty but were pegged back by goals from Thomas Meunier and Kylian Mbappe before Firmino’s winner.
Roberto Firmino Strikes Late for Liverpool Against Paris Saint-Germain
The Game as it Happened
After the famous Liverpool anthem had been belted out, the game began. The opening exchanges were edged by Liverpool with good strikes on target from both Virgil van Dijk and James Milner. The Parisians struck back with two chances but they were not capitalised on by Neymar and Edinson Cavani at the 15-minute mark.
It was after half an hour that the deadlock was broken. After a good ball in form the right wing from Trent Alexander-Arnold fell to Andy Robertson, he whipped in an absolute beauty of a cross straight to Daniel Sturridge. The Englishman did the rest, a bullet header which Areola was powerless to stop.
PSG could have equalised within the next five minutes. A set-piece routine faell to Mbappe who, in acres of space, blazed over. His miss was to be punished. From the resulting play, the ball broke to Gini Wijnaldum, who was clumsily brought down by Spanish international Juan Bernat. The resulting penalty was dispatched with trademark coolness from James Milner. 2-0 to Liverpool on 35 minutes.
PSG did manage to halve the deficit before the break with a cross not being dealt with by the Liverpool defence. Belgian right-back Thomas Meunier hit an instinctive volley into the near corner to make it 2-1 on 40 minutes.
The first half was a tense and exciting one. Three goals in the final 15 minutes of the half set the game up for a tight second period.
Second Half
However, the second half was lacking in quality during the majority of the play.
Mohamed Salah scored after a goalmouth scramble but it was disallowed after an adjudged foul on Alphonse Areola in the 58th minute.
There was little to note in between this and when Salah gave away the ball in midfield too easily and PSG pounced, Mbappe clinically finishing from inside the box with less than ten minutes left.
The drama wasn’t over yet though. Fresh off the bench after being a doubt for the game, Firmino twisted the Parisian defence in all kinds of directions and finished into the far corner in added time.
Summing-Up
The game ended 3-2 to the hosts and it was a deserved result for the Merseysiders, who are now six for six in all competitions. The rest of the Champions League competition better take note as Liverpool have sent out a statement and a half.
Main Photo
