Paul Fennessy

PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN were comfortably the better side last night and fully deserved their place in the Champions League semi-finals.

And yet Liverpool might still wonder what might have been.

In many ways, the tie was the inverse of the first leg.

In Parc des Princes, PSG were more dominant than the 2-0 result suggested and could have been out of sight were it not for some wasteful finishing, with Ousmane Dembele the primary culprit.

At Anfield, on the other hand, the game was far tighter, and Dembele was the difference maker.

Liverpool produced an improved display, and PSG were far less impressive compared to the majesty of the first leg.

The Ligue 1 outfit still probably had the better chances in the first half, but early in the second, there were signs that they were psychologically wilting.

Despite being the inferior team technically, Liverpool were making their physicality count.

For a 15-20 minute period after the break, the French side were threatening to implode under the pressure of the occasion, as they did so often in key Champions League fixtures during the pre-Luis Enrique era.

The French champions, for a period, stopped playing and allowed Liverpool to gain real momentum.

The visitors had a few let-offs with the Reds increasingly knocking on the door, before the penalty that wasn’t.

It was certainly one of the more strange VAR calls in recent memory.

Referee Maurizio Mariani initially pointed to the spot after Alexis Mac Allister appeared to be impeded from behind by Willian Pacho’s clumsy challenge.

It was not a stonewall penalty, but there was contact, and the Argentine international went down in the area.

It was the type of incident that 99% of the time gets awarded as a free kick if it takes place outside of the box.

Yet it is an unwritten rule in football that different standards are applied when it comes to awarding penalties compared to free kicks — a glaring inconsistency that exasperates certain fans.

And generally speaking, VAR officials have been reluctant to overturn the officials’ on-field decisions.

That is why even genuine refereeing mistakes are often ignored.

The phrase often used to justify a lack of VAR intervention is whether there is evidence of “a clear and obvious error”.

First of all, it’s a questionable use of the English language. Why not just say ‘obvious error’?

Secondly, there was no obvious error with the original call at Anfield last night.

If the penalty had not been awarded originally, it would hardly have been a huge controversy.

But it was the type of decision that was, at the very least, a 50:50 call.

On that basis, overturning the penalty seemed very strange and a conspicuous departure from VAR traditions.

Of course, even if Liverpool had been awarded the spot kick and scored, there is a strong chance PSG would have advanced regardless.

But there is no doubt that the decision altered the course of the tie.

It sapped a fervent, partisan Anfield crowd’s energy, whereas a goal would have done the opposite.

These decisions can also change lives.

The PSG defeat may well end up costing the increasingly hapless Arne Slot his job — a Champions League triumph felt like the last chance for the big-spending reigning Premier League champions to rescue their disastrous season.

It is not even guaranteed that they will end up back in the competition next year — the Reds are only just inside the Champions League places in fifth, with the likes of Chelsea, Brentford and Everton not far off them with six games to play in the English top flight.

Yet no matter what happens between now and the campaign’s climax in May, Tuesday night felt like the end of an era.

Mo Salah and Andy Robertson have already confirmed their imminent Anfield departures. Both players started on the bench, and only the Egyptian was introduced.

Other important figures of the Jurgen Klopp years may be facing uncertain futures.

Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister, and Ibrahima Konaté have had poor seasons by their standards.

And most of the new signings have struggled to adapt — none of Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez, Alexander Isak, and Jeremie Frimpong have fully convinced.

And the most impressive of this contingent – Hugo Ekitike — was forced off injured after 31 minutes last night with a serious-looking injury.

PSG, on the other hand, despite enjoying some luck in the second leg, look in great health.

Their starting XI last night featured just one player over the age of 30 (Marquinhos is 31).

Nine of the visitors’ team that played from the outset are 27 or younger.

That means most of their strongest side have ostensibly yet to reach their footballing peak — a scary thought for the rest of Europe.

And they did it without the injured Fabián Ruiz, an important midfielder who was also key to Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph.

If they can keep this team together, and perhaps most importantly of all, their talismanic manager, Luis Enrique, then the Parisiens have the potential to dominate for years to come in a manner akin to the great Real Madrid side that won it four out of five times between 2014 and 2018.