‘How?’ – BBC pundit lost for words after what ‘immaculate’ Liverpool star did vs PSG

Nuno Mendes frustrated Mo Salah once again, blocking an early shot from the Egyptian that seemed destined for the back of the net.

The No.11 helped the Merseysiders to an electric opening quarter of an hour of football from the hosts, with the hosts pinning back PSG.

Arne Slot’s men held a 1-0 lead going into the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 clash with the incumbent Ligue 1 champions, thanks to Harvey Elliott’s late heroics.

Ousmane Dembele’s close-range goal levelled the tie in the opening 45 minutes, against the run of play.

Mo Salah could have had two goals within 10 minutes

You could forgive all associated with Liverpool Football Club for feeling a little frustrated at PSG’s equalising goal, completely against the run of play in the first half at Anfield.

Salah, twice, had opportunities to extend our lead on aggregate, first finding himself thwarted by Mendes before a later effort was curled wide after beating the Portuguese defender at the second time of asking.

Incredible block by Mendes denies certain goal for Salah. Corner for #LFC…

— Ian Doyle (@IanDoyleSport) March 11, 2025

Salah so close to the opener again! Nutmegs Mendes, races get forward, gets a lucky bounce but then curls just wide from inside the box.#LFC #LIVPSG #UCL https://t.co/N4EeKi4X0M

— Theo Squires (@TheoSquiresECHO) March 11, 2025

Such was the nature of the opening opportunity that former Red Stephen Warnock couldn’t quite wrap his head around the miss.

“How has Mo Salah missed? It looked like an open goal for Salah. The run in behind for Dominik Szoboszlai was immaculate,” the 43-year-old spoke on BBC Radio 5 Live (via BBC Sport).

Salah can’t go missing again

We obviously can’t expect (as virtually inhuman as the 32-year-old has been in the 2024/25 season) Salah to be firing on all cylinders in every tie.

However, in a clash that will ultimately decide whether or not Liverpool progress in the Champions League or not, we can’t afford a repeat of the winger’s first-leg vanishing act.

The former Chelsea and Roma hitman struggled to make an impact against the PSG backline in the French capital, failing to register a single shot all night.

That said, there have been significant signs of improvement already in the opening 45 at L4, with the wide man getting on the end of a big chance and proving to be much more of a nuisance in the 18-yard box.

Sofascore have our top-scorer on a 6.7/10 rating (at the time of writing) approaching the first-half break:

→ 32 touches

→ 2 key passes

→ 14/18 passes completed (78%)

→ 1 shot off target

→ 1 shot blocked

→ 2/3 dribbles completed

→ 2/5 ground duels won

→ 0/1 aerial duels won

→ Possession lost 12x

We’re still waiting on Mo Salah to properly challenge Gianluigi Donnarumma, but we’ve got faith in the Egyptian leaving his mark on the visitors.

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