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Liverpool have been knocked out of the Champions League this season following a 2–0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield on Tuesday evening, resulting in a 4–0 aggregate loss.
The result means the Reds, currently fifth in the Premier League and recently knocked out of the FA Cup, will finish the 2025–26 season without a trophy, just one year after claiming domestic honours.
The tie was effectively decided six days prior in Paris. The defending European champions built an insurmountable advantage through a dominant performance in the French capital, with goals from Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia doing the damage.
Liverpool pushed hard at Anfield but never genuinely threatened PSG or mounted a realistic comeback. Ibrahima Konaté had a first-half opportunity that was kept out by Matvey Safonov, with Marquinhos making a crucial last-ditch tackle to prevent the rebound from being converted.
Liverpool were briefly given a penalty in the second half, only for VAR to correctly reverse the decision after a review showed Willian Pacho's challenge on Alexis Mac Allister was negligible. Safonov later made a comfortable stop to deny Rio Ngumoha.
Ousmane Dembélé effectively ended the contest with just under 20 minutes remaining, calmly slotting the ball into the bottom corner of Giorgi Mamardashvili's net from outside the penalty area. At that stage, Liverpool's hopes of a comeback were completely extinguished.
To compound Liverpool's misery further, Dembélé wrapped up a sharp PSG counter in added time, tapping home a cutback from Bradley Barcola.
Salah Unable to Prove Slot Wrong
Mohamed Salah, who had been left out of the starting lineup in the first leg and returned to face Fulham in the intervening fixture, was once again named on the bench. However, unexpected circumstances saw him introduced to the pitch during the first half.
Yet if the stage seemed set for the departing icon to silence a manager who has grown increasingly unpopular among supporters, Salah fell well short of delivering. Ngumoha, the 17-year-old, ultimately made a greater impression in his opening five minutes later in the game than Salah managed across an entire hour.
Among Salah's early contributions was a teasing delivery that presented Konaté with the chance that Safonov saved well. A decent cross later in the half posed some threat but was dealt with comfortably—and that largely summed up the 33-year-old's influence. A period of activity in the opening half-hour that spilled into the early second half perhaps gave the impression of more involvement than there actually was.
Salah never took the game by the scruff of the neck as fans who questioned his initial exclusion had hoped. By contrast, Dembélé's contribution was sharp and decisive—the kind of performance that once defined Salah himself, but no longer.
Salah's Last Ever UEFA Champions League Match?
A broader consequence of Liverpool's exit is that Tuesday's match may well have been the final UEFA Champions League outing of Salah's remarkable career.
His departure from Liverpool when his contract expires in June is already confirmed. While a move to another European club next season remains a possibility, realistic options are scarce, and a pre-retirement spell in either Major League Soccer or the Saudi Pro League appears far more probable.
Salah lifted the Champions League trophy with Liverpool in 2019 and has also been a runner-up on two occasions.
Should this prove to be his final appearance, he will fall just short of 100 Champions League games, ending on 98 across stints with Basel, Chelsea, Roma and Liverpool—a record that includes 50 goals and 21 assists.
Ekitiké Injury a Setback for Liverpool's Post-Salah Growth
Slot noted in a Prime Video pre-match interview that Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitiké had shared just 88 minutes on the pitch together prior to this game—a startling statistic given Liverpool invested approximately $430 million in the three players last summer with the aim of transforming their attack.
Just 30 minutes in, Ekitiké was carried off on a stretcher, forcing Slot to introduce Salah far earlier than he had likely planned.
Having also disclosed beforehand that Isak would be restricted to 45 minutes due to his recent recovery from a lengthy injury, the Dutch manager honoured that commitment at the break. Cody Gakpo was brought on to replace the club's record signing, who had touched the ball on average just once every nine minutes throughout the first half.
With Ekitiké seen clutching his Achilles after going down without any PSG player in close proximity, there are growing fears he may not feature again this season—and could potentially miss the World Cup as well.
With Salah set to leave, Liverpool desperately need that attacking trio to build chemistry ahead of next season. That now looks increasingly unlikely.
Frimpong Fails to Impress
Liverpool supporters took to social media during the first half to voice their frustration with Jeremie Frimpong, with one X user accusing him of "absolutely stinking up the place."
The Dutchman has endured a difficult debut season since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen, the signing intended to help fans move on from the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
A combination of injuries and a broader transitional period for the squad have made it hard for Frimpong to find his footing in high-stakes matches. He did not emerge for the second half, with Joe Gomez—a right back better known for his defensive qualities than his attacking output—coming on in his place.
Gomez himself was then substituted just 20 minutes later, though it was unclear whether the change was injury-related or tactical, with Ngumoha coming on to replace him.