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Throughout the final months of Arne Slot's debut campaign at Liverpool, he mentioned PSG several times. He clearly admired the way that Luis Enrique's team played — and, of course, it knocked the Reds out of Europe in March much more emphatically than the scoreline showed.
With its explosive attackers, technical midfield and flying full-backs, the comparisons to Liverpool — especially after the likes of Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong arrived during the summer — are obvious. Slot isn't simply trying to copy the team that went on to win the Champions League, but there are definite parallels.
In the Premier League, where, led by Arsenal, pretty much everyone has gone for a more physical, set-piece-heavy approach, Liverpool has gone against the grain. In UEFA's top competition, as a result, it should be no surprise that it is seeing more success.
While Liverpool has lost six games in the Premier League already this season, it sits in a good position in Europe. It has already beaten Atletico Madrid, Eintracht Frankfurt and Real Madrid.
Without question, the most convincing performances of the season have tended to come outside of the Premier League — the robust win over Arsenal aside perhaps — and it is there where Liverpool has looked most comfortable.
There too lies a comparison to PSG. Last year, it struggled until Christmas but then clicked into gear in the months that mattered most, helped in part by the January arrival of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Domestically, Liverpool doesn't have such an easy task as the Ligue 1 champion when it comes to getting back into title contention, and it is extremely unlikely to close the gap to Arsenal even if it goes on a lengthy winning run. But it will be hoping to replicate PSG's continental success.
It is, after all, much better equipped to win games against teams that try to play it at its own game, with the long throws and relentless dead balls of the Premier League yet to translate to the European ties.
Right now, any team that goes for power over technique against Liverpool has the capacity to knock the Reds out of their stride. On its day, though, Slot's men can turn up and put on a show — as they proved against Real Madrid.
It was in that game that Wirtz looked best, there was more space for Hugo Ekitike to run and press, and the likes of Ibrahima Konate looked much more focused on the big occasion. Isak was injured at that point, but would be likelier to excel there than in a rough-and-tumble scrap for possession.
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With nine points from four games and PSV coming to Anfield this week, Liverpool is already well-placed in the 36-team group phase, and can further strengthen that position by chalking up another win.
And as PSG proved last season, it is only really in the knockout phase that it really starts to matter in the Champions League, at which point anyone can get a bit of luck with some favorable draws.
Unless its Premier League troubles migrate into Europe, Liverpool won't be finishing 15th in the Swiss system, as the eventual winner of last year's tournament did.
With a bit of good fortune and a similar progression throughout the coming months as PSG showed is possible last year, it looks considerably better suited to going far in Europe than in the Premier League.
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