Liverpool have been inconsistent but PSG will know one thing they are about to face
Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from Echo or go back to LFC Live.
The odds are stacked against Liverpool when they face Paris Saint-Germain tonight, but they've done it before.When the European champions face the Premier League champions at Anfield this evening, they will arrive with a swagger and the self-assurance of serial winners and the belief that it will be Luis Enrique's side that advances to the semi-finals of the Champions League.You can't blame them. After winning last season's trophy playing a brand of football that is the envy of the continent, they remain on course to complete a Ligue 1 and Champions League double, cementing their current status as the dominant force in European club football.The Parisians' performance in the quarter-final first leg against Liverpool reaffirmed their standing as clear favourites in this tie, and despite last season's Round of 16 clash eventually being settled on penalties in their favour, they arrive this time with a two-goal advantage, not a one-goal deficit.Everything points to PSG advancing, but with one crucial caveat.
It's hard to believe that was 10 years ago, but it is only one example of when Liverpool have turned the tables on their opponents at Anfield against the odds.In 1991, the Reds overturned a UEFA Cup 2-0 first-leg deficit by beating French side Auxerre 3-0 at Anfield in the second leg, with Mark Walters clinching a dramatic late winner at the Kop end in front of just 23,094 spectators.In 2002, on one of the most emotional nights in the club's modern history, the Reds were inspired by the unannounced return of manager Gerrard Houllier, who was recovering from a near-fatal heart attack. With half a side out, Florent Sinama Pongolle and Neil Mellor got the first two before Steven Gerrard scored one of the most iconic goals of his entire career with time running out, en route to the Reds' historic fifth European Cup.In 2008, Rafa Benitez's team had already won and lost Champions League finals when they faced Arsenal in the quarterfinal second leg at Anfield (1-1 first leg).
The Reds looked to be going out with six minutes to play when Theo Walcott ran the length of the pitch before setting up Emmanuel Adebayor to tap home an equaliser for 2-2 - a result that would put the Gunners through on away goals.But Liverpool never lost belief and turned the tables completely two minutes later when Gerrard slammed home a penalty before Ryan Babel completed an incredible 4-2 victory on the break in the 90th minute.And unless you've been living under a rock, how could anyone forget Liverpool's staggering 4-0 victory over Barcelona in 2019, which wiped out the Catalan giants' 3-0 advantage from the first leg of the Champions League semi-final? The staff must believe they can do it and the Liverpool supporters who will be lucky enough to be inside Anfield tonight, who have presided over such a disappointing season, must also believe.Because without belief, you are just extras in someone else's performance.