While the good news for Liverpool is that they get to play Paris Saint-Germain again next week, the bad news is that they get to play Paris Saint-Germain again next week. Having spent much of his time in England bemoaning the cowardice of opposition teams who sit deep against his side, there was a certain irony in seeing Liverpool’s head coach embrace the negative tactics he has so often pooh-poohed during his side’s 2-0 evisceration at the hands of the reigning Bigger Cup holders in Paris. On a night when Liverpool had just 28% possession, registered zero shots on target and hoped for the best at a couple of Joe Gomez long throws, Arne Slot was at least treated to a masterclass on how best to overcome the kind of “anti-football” he has long lamented.

After two consecutive thrashings that suggested any residual heavy-metal football from the Jürgen Klopp era has now made way for its elevator-music equivalent, Slot offered up no excuses and admitted he had flown in the face of his own purist philosophy in an attempt to keep the tie alive for the second leg. While a faint pulse remains, its presence is down to a...