After Liverpool crashed out of Europe on Tuesday evening, defeated by PSG on penalties, Arne Slot remarked “maybe we ran out of luck after last week.”
Quite possibly. The Reds were battered and bruised a week ago in Paris but came away with a 1-0 win. There wasn’t the same level of fortune this time around as Slot’s side lost on penalties.
Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones were the sad souls to miss their spot-kicks but the manager was not in the mood to blame anyone in his squad. Instead, he questioned the Champions League’s new format.
“It feels unfair that we topped the table and then faced such a strong team as PSG,” he said. Perhaps, but given the strength of Luis Enrique’s side, they will have faced them sooner or later anyway.
While Liverpool certainly weren’t at their best across the two legs, there is no shame in losing to a team boasting Ousmane Dembele. The Frenchman – who had become a scapegoat at Barcelona – is now the in-form player in Europe’s top five leagues, boasting 29 goals in 36 games this term.
That said, he wasn’t the only attacker for the team from Paris who dazzled Liverpool’s defenders. Enter Desire Doue.
Desire Doue's performance against Liverpool
Last season, 19-year-old Doue emerged as one of the finest young talents in French football. Inevitably, he was snapped up by PSG, moving from Rennes in a deal worth around €50m (£42m).
Since then, he’s shown exactly why he “has the potential to be one of the best players on the planet”, in the words of data analyst Ben Mattinson.
Only a teenager, he’s already dominating the continental scene and in all competitions this term, has scored seven goals and provided 11 assists across 38 matches. That £42m fee is looking like a bargain.
If he hadn’t already come of age, then he certainly did against Liverpool at Anfield, putting in a performance that was handed a 7/10 by French publication L’Equipe. Famously stingy with their ratings, the substitute made such a big impact from the bench that he earned the same rating as goalscorer Dembele.
Minutes played
53
Touches
32
Accurate passes
16/19 (84%)
Shots on target
0
Shots off target
2
Successful dribbles
2/4
Key passes
2
Accurate crosses
1/1
Duels won
4/8
Tackles
2
Unfortunate not to score, the Frenchman was a constant menace, supplying two key passes, attempting four dribbles and crucially, scoring his all-important penalty from the spot. It was the game-winning effort.
As Alan Shearer once said when Trent Alexander-Arnold tucked home a penalty at Euro 2024, “what pressure? Pressure is for tyres!”. The teen strode up like it was a game in the park, not a Champions League last-16 tie.
So, he’s one of the most exciting young players on the planet, we’ve established that. But, do Liverpool have their own Doue lying in wait for his opportunity?
Liverpool have struck gold with their own Desire Doue
While Doue proved to be the super sub at Anfield on Tuesday evening, Liverpool had their very own in the first leg against PSG a week ago.
It was a poor performance from Slot’s side, truth be told. The mercurial Mohamed Salah was nowhere near his best and with four minutes left, the Dutchman bravely decided to take him off.
The Egyptian’s replacement was Harvey Elliott, aged just 21, two years older than Doue. Did he make an impact? Boy, did he.
The young Englishman scored the game-winning goal, as Doue did from the spot this week,
Darwin Nunez picked up the ball outside the penalty area, drove forward and then picked out Elliott on the right-hand side. The youngster was charging forward as though his life depended on it and then cooly stroked the ball past Gigi Donarumma. It was a true smash-and-grab but showed the marker of an elite talent in the making.
In all honesty, since his £4.3m move from Fulham as a spritely teenager, Elliott hasn’t had it all his own way on Merseyside. There was that horrific leg break a few years ago and this season, he has only started once in the Champions League. He’s failed to make the starting XI once in the Premier League.
Yet, this is a special player. He may not have the same wizardry as young Doue but he’s fleet-footed, capable of beating players and on his day, he’s just as dangerous in the final third.
It was only last term that he scored four times and registered 11 assists under Jurgen Klopp. That assist count is the same number as PSG’s wonderkid has this season, suggesting their creative levels are on par.
Elliott will no doubt improve with age and should Salah leave, he will be primed and ready for more minutes. He’s not quite at the same level as Doue yet but there are similarities, not just positionally, but in the way they glide forward, ball at their feet, with ease.
Now valued at £30m via Transfermarkt, a staggering 598% rise on their initial investment back in 2019, they have struck gold here, irrespective of his minutes under Slot in 2024/25.
Not just Nunez: Liverpool star who lost the ball every 3 mins let Slot down
Liverpool exit the Champions League in the last 16 after losing to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties.
1 ByAngus Sinclair Mar 12, 2025