What began as a Galatasaray problem has now become a PSG problem, and the scale of the task is not lost on Anfield or on Arne Slot himself. Liverpool’s 4-0 second-leg victory over the Turkish champions, completing a 4-1 aggregate win, announced themselves back among the genuine contenders for the Champions League, and the draw has now handed them the defending title holders as their next opponents.
Goals from Dominik Szoboszlai, Hugo Ekitike, Ryan Gravenberch and Mohamed Salah dismantled Galatasaray on Wednesday night in a performance that felt more conclusive than the scoreline even suggests. Liverpool had 32 shots and an expected goals figure of 5.02, against Galatasaray’s 0.18, a statistical mismatch that tells the story of how completely the tie changed once the second leg got underway.
Salah was the defining figure despite having a penalty saved in first-half stoppage time. His character in recovering from that moment, going on to score Liverpool’s fourth and register his 50th Champions League goal in the process, making him the first African player to reach that landmark in the competition, gave the night a sense of historic significance beyond the result.
Slot acknowledged, pointedly, that the absence of Victor Osimhen due to injury at half-time altered the complexion of the tie materially. “Osimhen is an incredible player for them,” he said. “Yeah, [the injury] worked for us.” It was an unusually candid admission that speaks well of the manager’s honesty, even if it slightly dims the lustre of the performance by implying conditions were more favourable than they might have been.
The draw against PSG carries serious weight. Liverpool met them last season in the last 16, drawing 1-1 on aggregate before losing on penalties, with PSG going on to win the tournament outright. Luis Enrique’s side then eliminated Chelsea 8-2 over two legs in this year’s last 16, and Barcola, though recently injured with an ankle sprain, represents one of the more dangerous forwards in European football on current form.
The scheduling of the quarter-final adds another layer of complexity. Liverpool face five games in sixteen days from April 4 onwards, including the FA Cup quarter-final away to Manchester City, both PSG legs and two Premier League fixtures in between. Rotation management and squad depth will be tested in a way that could define Liverpool’s entire season.
Slot’s claim that Liverpool were “the only team who brought them to extra time, the only team who brought them to penalties” last season is true, and it is also the kind of framing that suggests he is approaching this as a genuine contest rather than an insurmountable obstacle. The Anfield leg on April 14 is where the tie will likely be decided, and Liverpool will be desperate to protect an advantage from Paris.
Mohamed Salah’s moment against Galatasaray arrived when it was needed most, and Anfield’s atmosphere across those four second-half goals was the kind of collective release the club has been searching for since the title run-in became the priority. Whether that momentum can be carried into April against the continent’s most formidable team remains to be seen, but Wednesday night reminded everyone that this Liverpool side is still capable of producing nights of real quality.