PSG next: Examining Liverpool’s pathway to potential Champions League glory in Budapest

Liverpool’s march toward a seventh European Cup remains alive after a commanding dismissal of Galatasaray at Anfield sent them into the Champions League quarter-finals, yet the road ahead is anything but smooth. On 8 and 14 April the Reds must confront the reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain, the very side that ended their run last season and fresh from an 8-2 aggregate rout of Chelsea in the previous round.

Manager Luis Enrique can call upon a glittering forward line that includes Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue and Goncalo Ramos, a quintet that punished the London club with ruthless efficiency and will sniff any lapse in Liverpool’s occasionally errant back line. Arne Slot’s men, therefore, must tighten the defensive gaps that have surfaced at key domestic moments if they harbour genuine ambitions of reaching the final at Budapest’s Puskas Arena on 30 May.

Should Liverpool topple the Parisians, the degree of difficulty will scarcely diminish. The semi-final draw pits them against either Bayern Munich, who struck ten times past Atalanta in the round of 16, or a Real Madrid team that has repeatedly frustrated the Merseysiders in Europe over the past decade—though Madrid have twice tasted defeat at Anfield in the last 18 months. Whichever heavyweight advances, a familiar face is guaranteed to return: Trent Alexander-Arnold if Bayern progress, or Luis Diaz should Madrid prevail.

A hypothetical passage to the final would then pair Liverpool with one of Arsenal, Barcelona, Sporting Lisbon or Atletico Madrid. While the Premier League and La Liga frontrunners appear the most likely to emerge from that bracket, Sporting and Atletico underlined their credentials by dispatching Bodo/Glimt and Tottenham Hotspur respectively and will relish the underdog label.

Although the Reds cannot afford to gaze too far down the line while PSG loom large, the tantalising prospect of a fourth Champions League final appearance in nine seasons—and a shot at continental immortality—will fuel every training session between now and spring. Overcoming the holders in April would not only exact a measure of revenge but also broadcast a resounding statement of intent: Liverpool believe the trophy can return to Anfield come the end of May.