Liverpool vs PSG: Three reasons why Arne Slot's side can pull off Anfield comeback against Champions League holders

Liverpool will welcome the reigning European Champions, Paris Saint-Germain, to Anfield for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final clash, with the hosts in need of a remarkable fightback if they are to keep their hopes alive of finishing a tricky campaign with a trophy.

The Reds need to overturn a two-goal deficit after falling to a 2-0 defeat in the French capital last week.

Goals from Desire Doue and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia have left Liverpool on the brink of being knocked out of the Champions League by PSG for a second consecutive season.

The Reds have a rich history in this competition, but they have not made it beyond this stage since they lost 1-0 to Real Madrid in the 2021-22 final. 

With that in mind, Liverpool fans may be pessimistic about their chances of staging a comeback, especially as the team has looked far from their best far too often this season, leading to scrutiny over Arne Slot's position. 

While belief may be thin on the ground, we feel there is still reason to believe that a fightback is possible.

Here, Sports Mole provides three reasons why Liverpool can overturn the two-goal deficit on Tuesday. 

1. PSG's history of spurning strong positions

PSG boss Luis Enrique will believe that his team have put to bed the ghosts of the past, but the French giants do have previous experience of spurning promising positions in Champions League knockout games.

In fact, there have been three separate occasions where PSG have spurned leads of two goals or more from the first leg of a Champions League knockout tie.

Who can forget when a Barcelona side, managed by Enrique, pulled off La Remontada against the Parisian club in the last 16 of the 2016-17 competition.

On that occasion, Barcelona overturned a four-goal deficit from the away leg with a thrilling 6-1 victory at Camp Nou that included stoppage-time goals from Neymar and Sergio Roberto. 

Two years later, Marcus Rashford scored a 94th-minute penalty at the Parc des Princes, as Manchester United bounced back from a 2-0 home defeat with a 3-1 triumph in the French capital. 

The other tie that saw PSG spurn a two-goal first leg lead took place against another English side in 2013-14 when they failed to protect a 3-1 advantage from their home clash against Jose Mourinho's Chelsea. 

Demba Ba netted in the 87th minute in the return fixture to seal a 2-0 victory and eliminate PSG on away goals. 

2. Anfield factor can inspire Champions League comeback

Anfield has been the scene of some memorable European nights, and Slot hopes that the fans can help the players produce another special occasion on Tuesday. 

"They [the fans] will be just as important as our performance," Slot told reporters in Monday's press conference, as per BBC Sport. 

"I think we have to be much, much better than last week, and their players are experienced and have experienced Anfield a year ago [when they went through on penalties].

"They know what is coming up, so I can only hope that our fans find an extra gear compared to last year when the atmosphere was unbelievable.

"But I think our fans are up for it and I think I can trust them [to be] even louder than last season."

Liverpool have won eight of their 10 Champions League home games over the past two seasons, including four wins in five European outings at Anfield this term.

They comfortably dispatched Galatasaray in last month's meeting at Anfield, overturning a 1-0 deficit from the first leg with an emphatic 4-0 success in front of their supporters. 

That result also represented their sixth clean sheet in their past eight Champions League home games, and they will know they will have to produce another strong defensive display if they are to have any hope of producing a comeback - the mistakes of November's 4-1 drubbing at the hands of PSV Eindhoven will need to be avoided. 

The Reds can also take inspiration from their record at Anfield against Ligue 1 opposition, having emerged victorious from 14 of their 18 European matches against teams from France. 

PSG may have got the better of Liverpool on last season's visit to Merseyside, but the Reds came out on top in the only other Anfield meeting between the two sides in September 2018.

However, a repeat of the 3-2 scoreline from the 2018-19 group stage would not be enough on this occasion if Liverpool are to remain in the hunt for their seventh Champions League/European Cup.

3. Positive omen from UCL defeats 

“Corner taken quickly… ORIGIIII!!!!” ??

Does Divock delivering in our incredible comeback against Barcelona get your vote for our greatest ever goal?

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) June 22, 2022

Liverpool fans may feel underwhelmed by their team's European campaign up until this point, having seen their side fall to four defeats in their 11 Champions League games.

However, the fact that they have lost four matches might actually be a positive omen, because it represents the first time they have suffered four losses in a single Champions League campaign since they went on to win the trophy in the 2018-19 season.

Notably, Liverpool also overturned a significant first-leg deficit in their run to the trophy, pulling off a memorable comeback from three goals down in their semi-final tie against Barcelona.

Jurgen Klopp's charges pulled off a stunning 4-0 victory at Anfield, completed by the famous 'corner taken quickly' goal that saw Trent Alexander-Arnold set up Divock Origi for the decisive effort. 

Liverpool supporters will be hoping that the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike can etch their name into Anfield folklore by conjuring up something special on Tuesday evening. 

Incidentally, the Reds also reached the final in the only other Champions League campaign that saw them slump to four defeats.

Unfortunately for Liverpool, one of those losses came in the 2006-07 final in Athens, where AC Milan avenged their 2004-05 disappointment with a 2-1 success over Rafael Benitez's side.