Red redemption: Rob blasts late winner as Klopp’s side punish PSG
SUBSTITUTE Roberto Firmino drilled home an added-time winner as Liverpool won an enthralling Champions League opener 3-2 at home to Paris St Germain.
Last season’s beaten finalists had squandered a two-goal lead provided by Daniel Sturridge and James Milner inside 36 minutes.
However, PSG enjoyed a stroke of luck with the absence of an offside flag in the build-up to Thomas Meunier pulling one back and when Neymar and Kylian Mbappe combined for the latter to score seven minutes from time it appeared the damage had been done.
However, Firmino – left out of the starting line-up with an eye injury – struck in the second minute of added time as Jurgen Klopp’s side began another European adventure in dramatic style.
Liverpool had impressively kept at bay the visitors’ feared forward line of Mbappe, Neymar and Edinson Cavani for 83 minutes.
Reds left-back Andy Robertson had the measure of the lightning-quick Mbappe for the majority of the game, Neymar drifted in and out while Cavani was little more than an irritation to Virgil van Dijk.
But the Brazil internationalist and the French World Cup winner combined after seizing on a late opportunity to seemingly inflict more Champions League pain on the Reds. Firmino proved there was nothing wrong with his focus with a deadeye shot across a crowded penalty area to bring up a century of goals for him, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane since August 2017.
Sturridge had not started a Champions League match since Chelsea’s 4-1 win over Napoli in March 2012 and while he cannot hope to replicate the skill-set of Firmino, his talents lie in other areas.
Areola made three decent saves in the first 10 minutes from former Celtic star Van Dijk and Milner before tipping over Salah’s inswinging corner.
Liverpool’s breakthrough came just when Trent Alexander-Arnold’s far-post cross was too high for Mane but was returned by Robertson and Sturridge nodded past Areola.
Georginio Wijnaldum was brought down by Juan Bernat and Milner drilled an unstoppable penalty inside Areola’s left-hand post.
But it was two strokes of luck which allowed PSG to pull one back just before half-time.
Cavani, starting in an offside position, attempted an overhead kick from Angel di Maria’s cross as the ball bounced off Robertson for Meunier to volley home.
Just before the hour Salah