Why Liverpool vs PSG penalty shootout wasn’t in front of Anfield’s Kop End | Football

Jamie Carragher confessed he couldn’t understand why last night’s dramatic Champions League penalty shootout between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain wasn’t held in front of Anfield’s Kop End.

The former Reds defender watched the entirety of the second leg from the famous stand as the French champions bounced back from last week’s defeat which Carragher, himself, described as a robbery.

Ousmane Dembele’s scrambled 12th minute effort was, ultimately, the only goal of the evening as both sides passed up presentable opportunities to negate the need for extra time.

After a goalless additional 30 minutes the last 16 tie went to penalties and it was PSG who prevailed after they converted all four of their spot kick and capitalised on the two superb saves made by Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Carragher confessed Luis Enrique’s side were the better team over two legs and deserved to progress but hinted the outcome may have been different had PSG not been able to take the penalties in front of their own fans.

The Ligue 1 giants also had the advantage of taking the first penalty which immediately put pressure on Liverpool after Vitinha outfoxed Alisson Becker from 12 yards.

‘One thing I couldn’t work out with the penalties was obviously it was a toss up with Virgil van Dijk so PSG must’ve won to take it at the other end,’ Carragher told CBS.

‘But also took the first penalty so I wasn’t quite sure what had happened there, normally you get one advantage.’

Prior to the shootout, however, former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg explained there are actually two separate coin tosses to determine the end the penalties are taken from and who gets to shoot first.

He told Amazon Prime: ‘I think Liverpool would love it at the Kop of course but it’s down to the referee.

‘It’s the referee’s call on which side it is on the coin. It will be one side for one side of the coin and the other side of the pitch for the other side of the coin.

‘Then the captain’s will decide and if he’s the lucky one he’ll decide either to take the first or second penalty. But it’s the referee’s call on the first coin toss at which end it will be.’

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot, meanwhile admitted there was a sense of shock after his side suffered a rare setback in what has been a season of almost uninterrupted success.

Slot said it was difficult to separate the two teams after 90 minutes and while he accepted his opponents edged extra time still felt harsh.

‘Of course it is shock,’ he said. ‘It is maybe not the moment to tell them now but two seasons ago we went out to Real (Madrid) after losing 5-2 at home so if you have to go out, go out the way we did against one of the best teams in Europe and making such a fight.

‘I hope every fan around the world was hoping this game wouldn’t stop because it was incredible.

‘Two teams had an incredible level and intensity in the first 25 minutes. I also remember the first 25 against Manchester City and Real Madrid but this was unbelievable what we showed in the first 25.

‘Over 90 minutes I don’t think we deserved to lose, over 180 maybe it was deserved we went to extra time.

‘In extra time I thought maybe PSG was better than us. Then it comes down to penalties and they scored four.’

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