Paris Saint-Germain beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties on Tuesday night after winning in 1-0 in normal time in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, thus advancing to the quarter-finals after a 1-1 aggregate draw.
Liverpool started excellently and could have taken the lead through Mohamed Salah, but Ousmane Dembele opened the scoring after PSG beat the hosts' press and Bradley Barcola squared a ball to the Frenchman in the penalty area.
The Reds had to endure a spell of pressure towards the end of the first half, but they began the second half well and may have found themselves in front had Luis Diaz shown more composure in front of goal.
Despite the chances the Merseysiders created, PSG managed to take the tie to extra time and limit their hosts to few chances, and the tie was ultimately decided by a penalty shootout.
Salah scored Liverpool's first penalty, but Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones missed the subsequent two attempts from the spot, while PSG netted all four of theirs to advance into a tie against either Aston Villa or Club Brugge.
SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT
Liverpool's season can still be an incredibly successful one given they are almost certain to win the Premier League, and they will be firm favourites against Newcastle United in the EFL Cup on the weekend.
However, fans will have to contend with the possibility that they have seen the last of Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk in the Champions League for the club.
As for PSG, after years of embarrassing failure in Europe, Luis Enrique's side will surely be seen as one of the favourites to reach the final at least.
LIVERPOOL VS. PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN HIGHLIGHTS
5th min: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) miss
Alexis Mac Allister receives a pass from Dominik Szoboszlai deep inside the PSG box on the left, but the Argentine midfielder decides to pass instead of shoot, pulling a ball back to Salah, who fires at goal and sees his attempt bounce off of the leg of Nuno Mendes.
So close!
12th min: Liverpool 0-1 Paris Saint-Germain (Ousmane Dembele)
Liverpool aggressively press and their lines are broken, with Dembele free in the centre of the pitch before he sprays a pass out wide to Barcola, who returns a pass to Dembele inside the box for the Frenchman to finish from close range.
A sucker punch by PSG!
53rd min: Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool) offside goal
Alexander-Arnold takes a shot from the edge of the box and see his effort strike the right post before he sprints to cross the rebound to Szoboszlai, who taps in, but Diaz was offside in the buildup to Alexander-Arnold's original shot.
That was better from Liverpool!
73rd min: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) injury
Alexander-Arnold attempts to tackle Vitinha on the sidelines but his ankle rolls beneath his body, and the defender is forced off the pitch for Jarell Quansah.
How costly could that be?
Desire Doue penalty goal vs. Liverpool (penalty shootout, Liverpool 1-4 Paris Saint-Germain)
Desire Doue steps up to take PSG's fourth penalty and fires the ball into the left side of the goal, sending his side to the quarter-finals.
PSG eliminate Liverpool!
MAN OF THE MATCH - ALEXIS MAC ALLISTER
Despite being on the losing side, Alexis Mac Allister stood out on the pitch and was vital in the creation of a number of good attacking moments.
The Argentine also won the most ground duels of any Liverpool midfielder (5) and no other Reds player made more defensive actions (12).
LIVERPOOL VS. PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN MATCH STATS
Possession: Liverpool 46%-54% Paris Saint-Germain
Shots: Liverpool 19-21 Paris Saint-Germain
Shots on target: Liverpool 3-8 Paris Saint-Germain
Corners: Liverpool 12-6 Paris Saint-Germain
Fouls: Liverpool 14-6 Paris Saint-Germain
BEST STATS
WHAT NEXT?
Liverpool could win their first trophy of the season when they take on Newcastle United in the EFL Cup final on March 16, and they will then play Everton on April 2.
As for PSG, they return to Ligue 1 action on March 16 against Marseille before facing Saint-Etienne in the league on March 29.
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