Holders Paris St ​Germain were a cut above Liverpool as goals by Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia spurred them to ‌an easy 2-0 home win in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday.

Doue and Kvaratskhelia struck either side of halftime to give Luis Enrique’s side a solid advantage ahead of next week’s return at Anfield, where PSG booked their place in the last ​eight last season

Doue opened the scoring with a deflected effort before Kvaratskhelia doubled the lead with a superb ​solo run and finish, but PSG wasted a handful of chances that would have further ⁠strengthened their push for the semi-finals.

Liverpool, thrashed 4-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals at the weekend, ​set up cautiously with three centre backs and Mohamed Salah on the bench, but struggled to contain a PSG side ​that mixed patient possession with bursts of attacking intensity.

Arne Slot opted for a back three with wings but the defence held for only 11 minutes at the Parc des Princes.

Doue picked up the ball on the left side of the box and his curled shot ​towards the opposite top corner took a slight deflection off Ryan Gravenberch and went out of Giorgi Mamardashvili’s reach.

Liverpool ​were hanging on for dear life, picking up two yellow cards in three minutes, and barely threatened.

ZERO SHOTS ON TARGET FOR LIVERPOOL

As ‌the ⁠visitors’ defence scrambled a clearance, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia fired a half-volley that forced Mamardashvili to fully stretch. The keeper then denied Doue from point-blank range, preserving Liverpool’s deficit to a minimum.

Next, Ousmane Dembele missed a golden opportunity to double the advantage when he shot straight at the keeper at the end of a sharp transition.

Liverpool, who did not manage a ​single shot before the break, ​were fortunate to be only ⁠one goal behind.

Hugo Ekitike was the first to have a go but shot wide four minutes into the second half, shortly before Dembele missed the target again, skying his ​effort over the bar from inside the area.

That was as close as the visitors ​got, failing to ⁠manage a single shot on target.

Liverpool did, however, look bolder after the interval, but limited compared to PSG, who played keep-ball and tormented them with brutal changes of pace.

One of them came in the 65th minute when Joao Neves played in ⁠a racing ​Kvaratskhelia and the Georgian danced his way through the area, rounded Mamardashvili ​and slotted the ball home.

Dembele’s angled shot crashed onto the post and Nuno Mendes fluffed a golden chance in the final minutes as Liverpool ​preserved a slim hope of overturning the deficit next Tuesday.

-Reuters

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Atletico Madrid took a firm grip on their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday as goals from Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth earned a 2-0 first-leg victory over 10-man Barcelona at the Camp Nou.

Barcelona dominated proceedings, but Atletico’s rock-solid defence combined ​with swift counter-attacks paid off after Pau Cubarsi was sent off for hauling down Giuliano Simeone in the 42nd ‌minute as the last man.

Alvarez brilliantly curled the resulting free kick from 25 metres into the top corner in first-half stoppage time to silence the sold-out Catalan stadium.

Marcus Rashford struck the crossbar from a free kick soon after halftime but Diego Simeone’s side remained disciplined and doubled their lead in the 70th minute when Matteo Ruggeri ​crossed from the left and Sorloth volleyed in from close range, sealing a decisive away win that left Barca with a ​mountain to climb.

The winners of the two-legged tie will face either Arsenal or Sporting in the last ⁠four.

“We’re delighted with the win, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. The semi-final is still a long ​way off. We need to stay calm and confident, but keep our feet on the ground,” Antoine Griezmann told Movistar Plus.

With captain Raphinha ​and Frenkie De Jong absent, Barca manager Hansi Flick handed Rashford a start. Pairing the former Manchester United forward with Robert Lewandowski and teenage winger Lamine Yamal, Rashford was lively down the left, constantly stretching the Atletico defence.

He volleyed narrowly wide in the 13th minute and thought he had given Barca ​the lead five minutes later, turning in Yamal’s low cross at the far post, but the celebrations were cut short when VAR ​ruled Yamal offside in the build-up.

Atletico were content to sit deep in a five-man defensive line, conceding possession but few clear chances. Yamal and ‌Rashford probed ⁠persistently, targeting Ruggeri and Nahuel Molina out wide, though space in the final third was at a premium.

Simeone’s side remained dangerous on the break, with Alvarez and Ademola Lookman both wasting promising openings.

At the other end, Rashford forced a smart save from stand-in goalkeeper Juan Musso in the 29th minute before Yamal weaved past three defenders, only to see his shot blocked at close range.

The match turned late in ​the first half. In the ​42nd minute, referee Istvan Kovacs ⁠sent off Cubarsi after a VAR review for hauling down Giuliano Simeone as he raced through on goal, upgrading an initial yellow card to red.

Atletico struck immediately from the resulting free kick, Alvarez ​curling a superb effort into the top right corner beyond the reach of goalkeeper Joan Garcia ​to stun the Camp ⁠Nou.

Barcelona tried to rally after the break but struggled to break down Atletico, who stuck rigidly to their disciplined game plan. The visitors doubled their lead in the 70th minute when Ruggeri combined with substitute Sorloth to finish clinically.

Atletico comfortably saw out the closing minutes to take ⁠a ​commanding advantage into the return leg.

“We tried, but it wasn’t to be,” Barca defender ​Ronald Araujo told Movistar Plus.

“We came out stronger in the second half despite being a man down; we had possession but couldn’t find the net. We’re disappointed ​with the defeat, but I think we can turn it around.”

-Reuters

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Arsenal substitute Kai Havertz scored a stoppage-time goal to snatch a 1-0 win at Sporting in the first leg of their ​Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday.

The German forward was found unmarked inside the box by Gabriel Martinelli before calmly slotting the ball ‌past goalkeeper Rui Silva to settle a tactical encounter.

After a first half in which Sporting’s Maxi Araujo and Arsenal’s Noni Madueke struck the woodwork, the visitors had a Martin Zubimendi effort disallowed before David Raya produced several late saves to deny the home side.

The deadlock was finally broken in added time by Havertz, who replaced the injured Martin Odegaard in ​the 70th minute, to secure the advantage before the return leg next week.

“Beautiful, and that’s the impact you need when you get to this ​stage of the season. Everybody has to make an impact, and they certainly did that tonight,” Arsenal manager Mikel ⁠Arteta told Amazon Prime regarding the winner.

“We had a goal disallowed, and there were two or three occasions where we were close but we lacked that ​final pass. In the end, a magic moment from the finishers wins us the game.”

The winners of the tie face Barcelona or Atletico Madrid, who play ​at the Nou Camp on Wednesday, in the semis.

ARSENAL REDEMPTION

Arsenal arrived in Lisbon seeking to bounce back from Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final exit at second-tier Southampton, and will be delighted with the win, but the sight of captain Odegaard limping off will concern Arteta.

The Norway midfielder appeared to struggle throughout the match, having recently returned from a long-term injury layoff.

The first ​half was a cagey affair, with the woodwork denying both sides an opening goal. Araujo came close for the hosts, seeing his powerful left-foot strike ​rebound off the post following a break into the box in the opening minutes.

However, Arsenal grew into the contest and nearly led through Madueke. The winger rose to meet ‌an outswinging ⁠corner, but his header clipped the bar with Silva beaten.

Despite the near misses, both teams struggled to find a consistent rhythm, with the tie remaining finely balanced heading into the second half.

Arsenal thought they had the breakthrough shortly after the hour when Zubimendi curled the ball into the net at the near post, but it was ruled out after a VAR review found former Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres to be offside in the build-up.

RAYA WINS PLAYER OF THE ​MATCH

With the hosts dominating the latter ​stages, Raya was forced into several ⁠crucial interventions, including a diving save to divert Geny Catamo’s low header behind for a corner, with the Spaniard’s performance earning the Player of the Match award.

“It’s something that I’m there for. I’m trying to help the team as ​much as possible in any single action, not just defending but commanding and on the ball,” Raya said.

The ​match seemed headed for ⁠a draw until a late lapse from the Sporting defence gave Havertz the space to control the ball and find a clinical finish to put Arsenal in the driving seat.

The result marks a return to winning ways for Arsenal following consecutive defeats, including their FA Cup exit and defeat by Manchester City in the League ⁠Cup final.

“We’ve come ​from two losses, learn from those moments, that pain when you lose a game” Raya ​added.

“Use that pain in the belly to go out there and express yourself, be yourself and try to be better every single day. That’s the main message we have to send out ​there.”

Premier League leaders Arsenal will try to keep up the momentum when they host Bournemouth on Saturday.

-Reuters

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