Liverpool player ratings vs Paris Saint-Germain: Arne Slot gets it all wrong again! Coach's Alexander Isak gamble backfires badly as Hugo Ekitike's injury compounds a miserable Champions League exit for the Reds

Liverpool's hopes of salvaging a shocking season were washed away on a miserable night on Merseyside on Tuesday evening, as an Ousmane Dembele double earned Paris Saint-Germain a 2-0 win at Anfield that saw Luis Enrique's men progress to the semi-finals of the Champions League 4-0 on aggregate. As with the first leg at the Parc des Princes, Arne Slot got his starting line-up all wrong, with the Reds boss sensationally deciding to hand Alexander Isak his first start since recovering from a broken leg earlier this month.

The Swede was inevitably a non-entity for the 45 minutes he lasted on the pitch and, to make matters worse, Liverpool lost Hugo Ekitike to a serious-looking injury during a tight and tense first half in which PSG dominated possession but needed captain Marquinhos to deny Virgil van Dijk a tap-in with an unbelievable goal-line block.

The hosts were much-improved after the break but despite the belated introduction of Rio Ngumoha were unable to find a way through PSG, and Dembele killed the contest with a fine finish from the edge of the area after a swift counter-attack from the reigning European champions, before adding a simple second late on.

GOAL ranks all of the Liverpool players on show as they were knocked out of Europe by PSG for the second consecutive season - but this time in far more comprehensive and damaging fashion.

Goalkeeper & Defence

Giorgi Mamardashvili (6/10):

Alive to the danger to prevent Warren Zaire-Emery getting in on goal before making an unorthodox save with his fist while pack-pedalling to deny Dembele, who had tried to lob him. Twice easily beaten by the PSG No.10 later on, though.

Jeremie Frimpong (3/10):

An dreadful performance from the Dutchman, who wasn't too bad defensively but repeatedly gave the ball away during the first half. As a result, he was hooked at the break.

Ibrahima Konate (7/10):

A much better night for the Frenchman, who made one particularly important interception to deny Dembele during the first half, and did his best to keep PSG at bay for as long as he could.

Virgil van Dijk (7/10):

Looked certain to open the scoring only to be denied by a brilliant block from Marquinhos and marshalled his defence well for the most part.

Milos Kerkez (7/10):

Went so close to breaking the deadlock with a sliding effort at the back post that was brilliantly saved by Matvey Safonov before later making a mess of another chance on his weaker right foot. A solid showing overall, though.

Midfield

Ryan Gravenberch (7/10):

One of his most dynamic displays in a red shirt in a long time. The Netherlands international helped Liverpool get control of the game at the start of the second half and also drove forward at absolutely every opportunity.

Dominik Szoboszlai (7/10):

Once again put in a huge shift in midfield, winning countless duels and recycling possession for his side. But unlike other big games this season, couldn't provide the moment of inspiration Liverpool needed.

Alexis Mac Allister (5/10):

Led the press well and thought he'd won a penalty after getting to the ball before Willian Pacho in the area but it was controversially overturned. Overall, though, another underwhelming effort from the Argentine, who picked up another stupid booking for a wild touchline tackle.

Attack

Hugo Ekitike (N/A):

A few nice dribbles aside, a pretty quiet start to the game before being forced off after half an hour with a suspected Achilles injury. Devastating for the Frenchman, particularly with the World Cup in mind.

Alexander Isak (4/10):

Surprisingly given his first start of 2026, the Swede wasn't at the races at all due to his lack of match fitness and was taken off at half-time after just five touches of the ball. Not his fault at all, though. Was asking way too much of him to make an impact in a game like this at this stage of his recovery.

Florian Wirtz (5/10):

Deployed on the left-hand side, the German looked the most likely to prise open the PSG defence with a neat one-two or deft lay-off - but once again couldn't make anything happen. Really needs to start stepping up in games like this.

Subs & Manager

Mohamed Salah (6/10):

Created chaos in the PSG box with a fine cross just seconds after coming on for poor Ekitike - and did likewise with another ball to the back post for Kerkez. But also gave the ball away with some sloppy touches.

Joe Gomez (6/10):

Took over at right-back from Frimpong only to be forced off with yet another injury midway through the second half. A shame, as he was doing well.

Cody Gakpo (6/10):

The expected replacement up front for Isak and immediately carried a greater attacking threat but just not good enough - again.

Rio Ngumoha (7/10):

Despite calls for the teenager to start, he was only brought on in the 68th minute - but almost scored moments later with a fine low drive.

Curtis Jones (N/A):

Only brought on for Mac Allister with around 15 minutes to go.

Arne Slot (4/10):

Made some big selection calls and got nearly all of them wrong. The decision to start Isak was ridiculous, while leaving Ngumoha on the bench until the middle of the second half was farcical. Slot will big up the second-half performance - which he deserves credit for inspiring - but it's hard to see where the Dutchman goes from here, particularly after throwing the tie away in the first leg.