Dembele double at Liverpool fires PSG into Champions League semis
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LIVERPOOL, England, April 14 : Ousmane Dembele struck twice to confirm Paris St Germain's place in the Champions League semi-finals with a 2-0 victory over Liverpool on Tuesday, sealing a 4-0 aggregate win in their quarter-final tie at a rain-soaked Anfield.
The holders soaked up sustained second-half pressure from Liverpool, who were roared on by a raucous home crowd, but built on the advantage they established in the first leg in Paris last week to book their fifth semi-final berth in seven seasons.
Dembele scored at Anfield for a second successive campaign when he latched onto a ball from Bradley Barcola in the 72nd minute and curled a shot into the bottom corner past Giorgi Mamardashvili from 20 yards out. He completed his double early in stoppage time, slotting home a cross from Barcola.
PSG will meet either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid in the next round, with the German side leading 2-1 ahead of Wednesday's quarter-final second leg.
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"We managed to stay strong and defended well," PSG defender Marquinhos told Canal+. "You can see how the team has matured. We've gained experience."
Boos rang around Anfield in the second half after a penalty was overturned by VAR, initially awarded when Willian Pacho clattered into Alexis Mac Allister in the box.
The game, played in a torrential downpour, was overshadowed by a worrying first-half injury to Liverpool forward Hugo Ekitike, who was carried off after going down unchallenged and pointing to his Achilles tendon, leaving the pitch in tears.
"It's not too good," Liverpool boss Arne Slot said. "Let's wait and see. In the second half he went home. I've not seen him yet."
PSG dominated the first half, and Dembele's brace came after he squandered a couple of earlier chances, including a close-range shot that he fired well over the bar and another that Mamardashvili, racing back toward his net, punched clear.
It was virtually all Liverpool early in the second half as Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo, Joe Gomez and Mac Allister all missed decent chances.
Milos Kerkez looked poised to score after latching onto a brilliant ball from Mohamed Salah, who was making his final Champions League appearance for the home side. But the Hungarian sent the ball wide.
Dembele's first goal, against the run of play, all but settled the contest, stripping struggling Liverpool, who had previously crashed out of both the FA Cup and League Cup, of any realistic hope of overturning the tie and leaving PSG firmly in control for the remainder of the night.
"The game today meant a lot of things because against PSG, who are a bit better than last season, to make a performance like that we have to build from that and realise how good we can be," Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate told Amazon Prime.
"It is minimum standard for Liverpool to play Champions League. We have six games left (of the Premier League season) and we have to give all in those six games.
"We knew we could do something special at Anfield... this is football. It's sad."
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