Alexander Isak plan backfires as next Liverpool evolution clear - 5 talking points vs PSG

Liverpool was knocked out of the Champions League by PSG with Ousmane Dembele scoring. This is what we spotted, with Hugo Ekitike's injury ultimately proving costly.

Alexander Isak couldn't make an impact for Liverpool.(Image: Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)

ANFIELD, LIVERPOOL // For all that Liverpool battled well and threatened to move ahead, PSG had enough to hang in there — and then Ousmane Dembele put the French side ahead.

Dembele and Virgil van Dijk will both feel they should have scored in the first half. Both had chances from close range either blasted over or well blocked, while Hugo Ekitike, in a major blow, went off on a stretcher.

With Alexander Isak only able to last a half and Ekitike gone, the Reds lacked the threat in the final third that was required to break the deadlock, and they were always going to have to score first to have any chance. Here are the five things Liverpool.com spotted as the game unfolded.

Anfield rises to Virgil van Dijk request

Virgil van Dijk said the Reds had to "remember we are Liverpool". Dominik Szoboszlai, Arne Slot, Luis Enrique and Achraf Hakimi all mentioned the power of Anfield on Monday.

It was also 10 years to the day since the famous comeback against Borussia Dortmund, which instigated much more both domestically and in Europe under Jurgen Klopp.

For Liverpool to have a chance of even making this a contest, it had to be a huge night under the lights in L4, and Anfield delivered. Before kick-off, it was crackling. In the opening exchanges, it was deafening.

PSG did its best with some spells of possession to take the sting out of the game and some delayed throw-ins that several sides in the Premier League would be proud of. The Anfield factor, though, clearly lifted those in red.

It was punctuated, to a large extent, when Dembele scored the opening goal, but this was a sign of what this group can achieve in the future. This experience, and that it lifted itself for a big occasion, is a plus. Ultimately, the first leg left the Reds with too much to do, even if this performance instilled some pride amid a 4-0 aggregate defeat.

Next Liverpool plan made to wait

Preparations for next season appear to have begun. Salah is leaving and he was benched here, with a new-look frontline starting instead. It made sense for a variety of reasons.

Getting Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak in the same team as often as possible is a must when Salah goes, and it looks to be the best bet in the short-term too.

It only lasted another 29 minutes or so here, though, before Ekitike was stretched off. The Frenchman went down in a heap under no contact before being replaced by Salah. That has to be a major worry for the remainder of the campaign.

Salah, as we will come to, endured a mixed night in his place. And given Isak could only play a half, with Cody Gakpo coming on in his spot, that trio was dismantled almost as soon as it had reunited.

Mohamed Salah's final Champions League game

In the March international break, of course, Salah confirmed that he would be leaving Liverpool — but there was no suggestion of this being a farewell tour that would indulge him.

Here, the Egyptian was reduced to being an option off the bench again, with a new-look trio (Isak-Ekitike-Wirtz) — who had only played with each other for 88 minutes before this, and never from the start — given the go-ahead from the off.

For each of them, this was a first real taste of a proper European night at Anfield. For Salah, he knew it could be his last, and when he came on, he was determined to leave his mark.

Unfortunately, his night was mixed. There were times when he looked on the verge of his old self, and others when his touch needed to be better, like when Wirtz played him in on an angle. He looked desperate to impress, but perhaps too so in moments.

Liverpool midfield energized

This was the most energy that Alexis Mac Allister has had for some time, no doubt rising to the occasion and feeding off the crowd. Ryan Gravenberch had an extra spring in his step too, while Dominik Szoboszlai rarely drops below a jog.

In the first leg, Liverpool didn't really engage and battle, opting instead to sit back and hope for the best. That simply wasn't an option this time around, and the approach was different.

Even Arne Slot had more energy than usual, bouncing around on the touchline — even coming onto the field at one point to intercept a ball that had just gone out of play.

The desire and the fight was there for for all to see. Ultimately, though, Liverpool had given itself too much to do in the second half of the tie with an experienced PSG group able to come through.

When Dembele scored, the tiredness set in. This is the benchmark for energy levels that needs to be replicated, though. The blueprint is there, and they know they are capable.

One aim remains for Arne Slot

It was always going to be a tough ask for Liverpool in the Champions League. After a first-leg defeat at the Parc des Princes against the current holder, the Reds had given themselves a mountain to climb.

It was going to take a performance better than anything Slot's side has produced in more than 12 months, realistically, to even win the game, let alone by a large enough margin to force extra-time or to progress.

You could argue that it was there to a point. There was intensity and there was pressing. Too often, however, there was a key touch or a crucial moment where things didn't quite click in the final third.

It was a night of nearly but not quite in the last 30 meters of the pitch, and it wasn't enough. Now, to ensure that Liverpool gets the chance to play in this competition next season via a top-five Premier League finish.