Harvey Elliott came off the bench and delivered a stunning last-gasp winner just 47 seconds later, snatching a fortunate 1-0 victory for Liverpool against a dominant Paris Saint-Germain in Wednesday’s Champions League round of 16 first leg.
Elliott slotted home in the 87th minute, finishing a layoff from fellow substitute Darwin Nunez, sealing an unlikely win in Paris after goalkeeper Alisson single-handedly kept Liverpool afloat with a string of brilliant saves.
Liverpool’s goal came from their first shot on target and just their second attempt of the match – compared to PSG’s 28.
"To go away with a win from here was probably a bit more than we deserved," Liverpool manager Arne Slot admitted.
Luis Enrique’s PSG, who had won 18 and drawn two of their last 20 games, were left to rue missed chances as they face a tough return leg at Anfield next Tuesday.
"We're going to show the team we are. We're going to show our character. We're going to win there," PSG midfielder Vitinha said. "With the game we played, the win was more than deserved. We had plenty of chances ... we just couldn't score."
The aggregate winner will face either Aston Villa or Club Brugge in the Champions League quarterfinals.
PSG started strong as Liverpool’s attempt at a high press quickly faded.
The hosts had their first clear chance in the 16th minute when João Neves skied his shot over the bar from Ousmane Dembele’s cutback after the France forward outpaced two defenders.
Liverpool’s defense was already on high alert and escaped again in the 20th minute when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s superb curling effort was ruled out for offside after a VAR review.
Bradley Barcola went down after a challenge from Ibrahima Konate, prompting another video check for a potential red card, but Liverpool remained at full strength.
With the visitors in survival mode, Alisson parried Neves’ 25-yard strike before denying Dembele. The ball fell to Barcola, whose first attempt was blocked before his second flew over.
The Brazilian keeper stood firm again to stop Kvaratskhelia and made saves left, right and center early in a one-sided second half.
"Without him, I don't know where we'd be," Elliott said.
Slot sent on Curtis Jones and Nunez for Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota, hoping to shift the momentum, but PSG remained a step ahead.
Alisson once again stretched to tip away Desire Doue’s rocket 10 minutes from time and also played a key role in the buildup to Liverpool’s goal.
With the clock winding down, Nunez used his strength to win Alisson’s long ball and set up Elliott, who calmly slotted past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
"You could see they (PSG) had become a bit tired at the end," Elliott said. "It was down to me to put the opportunity away, and fortunately, it went in."
Alisson, named man of the match, called it the performance of his life.
"We had to be ready to suffer ... It was a tough night for us with a happy ending," he said.
"We worked hard. We gave away so many chances ... And then, at the end, Harvey coming in and scoring the goal. It’s unbelievable. A great story. A great night for us."
