Football news - Liverpool lose at Paris Saint-Germain as last-16 dream hangs in balance

Paris Saint-Germain were far too good for Liverpool, easily outplaying them in the first half before seeing them away in the second period.

They must now beat Red Star Belgrade to qualify for the last 16, though even a defeat does the job if Liverpool-Napoli is a draw; Liverpool must win that game either 1-0 or by two clear goals.

From the off, Liverpool had no answer the PSG’s superior pace, skill and movement, unable to cope in midfield, where Marco Verratti dominated. Also in the mood was Neymar, a shimmering, swaying menace, though when the opening goal came it was from a surprising source, Juan Bernat driving home while Liverpool’s defenders dreamt of tangerine trees and marmalade skies.

That was on 13 minutes, and on 37 minutes the game looked over, a fine break eventually finished by Neymar.

Just before half-time, though, Angel Di Maria slid maniacally through Sadio Mane to concede a penalty that James Milner dispatched with customary competence and a serious second half looked in prospect. But Liverpool could not find a spark and looked more likely to concede a third than score a second.

So they must now rouse themselves for what should be glorious European night at Anfield - but if they do not play better than they did tonight, they may well lose that one too.

Change is a difficult thing to manage, and Liverpool conceded too many goals last season.

But the midfield Jurgen Klopp picked tonight could not hope to outplay PSG - no combination available to him could - but the lack of guile, skill and wit meant that they were unlikely ever to create enough chances to do anything.

If they are to beat Napoli, who they know to be no joke, they may need to think again.

Might easily have been sent-off, but he wasn't, and he first set the tempo for the game, then controlled it. A brilliant player.

7’ - Neymar drills a pass into Mbappe, who chests beautifully into the path of Di Maria - what a player - and Di Maria swats a shot towards the far post which Alisson shovels behind.

13’ - GOAL! PSG 1-0 Liverpool (Bernat) This is very poor from Liverpool. First, they allow Verratti to saunter through midfield via one-two and slide a ball through to Mbappe. Then, when his misdirected square pass is intercepted but not cleared by Van Dijk, Gomez and Robertson allow Bernat to races across them and swivel into a shot which beats Alisson on his blind side and at the near post, Solskjaer-style.

37’ - GOAL! PSG 2-0 Liverpool (Neymar) This is a brilliant break, Neymar winning the ball deep inside his own half, setting Mbappe away and taking a return then sending it back. Mbappe then crosses for Cavani who arrives in the box to sidefoot hard ... Alisson spreads himself well to block, but Neymar is there to roll home. There's a very obvious class difference here - PSG are miles too good for Liverpool and that's all there is to it.

45’ - Lifeline for Liverpool! Out of nothing! Mane nips the ball away from Di Maria at the top corner of the box and Di Maria piles through him for no reason whatsoever! What was he doing? The ref initially signals a corner, but it's a penalty!

45+1’ - GOAL! PSG 2-1 Liverpool (Milner pen) Buffon sways right and goes left, while Milner sweeps the kick in the other direction. Can Liverpool step it up or will the game simply proceed as before?

70’ - And this time Neymar sticks it to the penalty spot where Marquinhos is up well ahead of Dejan Baresi, heading hard and down ... but it's almost straight at Alisson, who shovels away very well. Not quite ye've gottae score territory, but it looked for all the world like he was going to.