Dembele Stuns Liverpool As PSG March Into Champions League Semis

Ousmane Dembele’s two goals helped Paris Saint-Germain reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, as they beat Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield on Tuesday. The home side also suffered a setback when Hugo Ekitike picked up what looked like a serious injury, which could rule him out for the rest of the season and hurt their chances of competing at the top level in Europe next year.

Arne Slot’s side are currently fifth in the Premier League and will finish the season without a trophy, as PSG stayed in control over both legs without even needing their best performance to reach a third straight semi-final.

The latest loss means Mohamed Salah will not get a memorable farewell after nine years at Liverpool. Slot also showed little emotion, leaving the Egyptian on the bench for what turned out to be his final UEFA Champions League game in a red shirt. Alexander Isak started up front, with the record Premier League signing making his first start since breaking his leg in December.

However, Salah had to come on after about 30 minutes when Hugo Ekitike picked up a worrying injury that could also affect his chances of playing in the World Cup for France. He almost made a quick impact, as his cross led to a strong save from Matvey Safonov to deny Milos Kerkez, before Marquinhos made a superb block to stop Virgil van Dijk from scoring the opener.

Both teams were level at 0-0 in the first half, but PSG came out stronger after the break and took control of the game. Dembele put the tie beyond Liverpool’s reach in the 72nd minute, cutting inside onto his left foot and curling a shot into the bottom corner from outside the box. He then added another in stoppage time, calmly finishing from a cross by Bradley Barcola.

After getting past Liverpool, PSG will now face a tougher challenge against either in-form Bayern Munich or 15-time champions Real Madrid in the semi-finals. Having finally ended their long wait for European success last season, Luis Enrique’s side are still on track to become the only team apart from Real Madrid to win back-to-back UEFA Champions League titles in the modern era.