French media offers scathing verdict of 'shaken' Liverpool ahead of PSG with two players singled out

Unsurprisingly, the reviews of Liverpool in France have not been kind in the wake of the 4-0 FA Cup loss to Manchester City on Saturday, with very few concerned about Arne Slot's side

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 04: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, interacts with Mohamed Salah of Liverpool as is substituted off during the Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Manchester City and Liverpool at Etihad Stadium on April 04, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

The postmortem on Liverpool’s FA Cup defeat at Manchester City was not kind on Arne Slot and the beleaguered Premier League champions.

The FA Cup quarter-final exit means the Reds will likely end the season without any silverware, unless they can pull off an unlikely Champions League triumph. Paris Saint-Germain lies in wait over the next eight days, and although it offers Slot a chance for revenge, few expect Liverpool to progress to the last four.

The Parisians warmed up for the Liverpool tie with a routine Ligue 1 win over Toulouse, with Luis Enrique making a cursory reference to the upcoming Champions League tie after the game.

Understandably, there is little concern about Liverpool’s threats on the other side of the English Channel. Indeed, French outlet L’Equipe offered a scathing review of Saturday’s FA Cup defeat.

It claimed there were four lessons to take, including the view that Liverpool legends Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are “in trouble.”

The report stated Salah “made a series of errors”, with Van Dijk looking “less dominant, less sharp.”

Van Dijk and Salah were criticized in the wake of the Manchester City defeat(Image: Getty Images)

L’Equipe also questioned whether Giorgi Mamardashvili is at the level required to replace the injured Alisson, adding he is not as skilled with his feet and that his positioning for Antoine Semenyo’s goal at the Etihad was “lacking”.

A third criticism of the side’s mentality was offered, with the view that Liverpool “crumbled” against City. Only Frenchman Hugo Ekitike earned any sort of praise in the post-match assessment.

Elsewhere, Eurosport France claimed Liverpool “delivered a dismal performance” at the weekend, and the manner of the defeat was a “real blow” before the PSG clash.

“Rarely have the Reds been so toothless and uninspired,” offered the French site, while Salah’s “glaring passivity” was criticized, along with Van Dijk’s “surprisingly naive” decision-making.

Liverpool endured a difficult afternoon in Manchester(Image: Getty Images)

Sport France claims Liverpool will “arrive shaken” in Paris, while Le Dauphine believes Wednesday’s match “takes on even greater importance” for Slot.

Evidently, the French media feels this Liverpool side is a vast downgrade on the team that was just a penalty shootout away from eliminating PSG last year. No-one on Merseyside would argue with that verdict.

The question remains whether Liverpool can find another gear as it has so often in the Champions League this season.

The last-16 win over Galatasaray was the best performance of the season, while wins over Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan and Marseille have sparked brief hopes of a mid-season revival.