Anfield can't be deciding FACTOR; reds need to improve on pitch in cauldron of napoli clash quite like Anfield. always feared. THINGS WE 4LEARNED by IAN DOYLE.

1 Slow start means a thrilling finish Bring your scarves, your flags, practice your songs, clear your diary and put a big circle around the date on the calendar.

Nowhere does a Champions League final group game decider quite like Anfield.

And that's what Liverpool now face after another disappointing, frustrating evening for Jurgen Klopp's side in France.

Ever since the last-gasp loss to Napoli back in October, there has always been the suspicion the return match against the Italians on December 11 would ultimately prove decisive.

So it has proved.

This 2-1 reverse to Paris Saint-Germain wasn't as poor as the defeat in Red Star Belgrade, nor as inept as that loss in Naples.

But as in Belgrade, Liverpool were hampered by a laboured start rather than flying out of the blocks, gifting PSG the initiative and a two-goal lead before the visitors finally managed to get going.

An improved second-half showing served to underline the French side - bitty, petty and downright annoying at times, and lucky Marco Verratti wasn't sent off for a poor tackle on Joe Gomez - were as vulnerable as they demonstrated in defeat at Anfield on the opening matchday.

How key that late, late Roberto Firmino winner looks now. Without it, the Reds would already be braced for the return of Thursday football.

That might still happen, of course.

A victory by two goals against Napoli is required to reach the Champions League knockout stages. Either that or a 1-0 win. No easy task, given the Serie A side remain the only unbeaten team in a group that has been as difficult as was Neymar game with Brazilian Becker's always feared.

Reds fans will no doubt note that when Liverpool last lost a penultimate group game in France, they were left needing a win in the final game against Olympiakos in 2004-05.

We all know what happened next. Liverpool, though, can't rely on the crowd to help them through. They need to do better on the pitch, that opening win over PSG arguably the only time they've realised their potential in Europe this season.

Leonardo di Caprio may have been among several high-profile stars watching on, but Liverpool always knew they'd not be among The Departed from the Champions League irrespective of what happened in the Parc des Princes.

Nevertheless, Klopp's side now face a Titanic battle to reach the knockout stages. December 11. Be there.

2 Middle men barely muddling through It may only have bought Liverpool half a Neymar, but PS105million is still not an inconsiderable amount of money.

That's how much the Reds splashed out to sign Fabinho, Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri in the summer as Jurgen Klopp, mindful of how last season ended in Kiev, sought to remould and reinvigorate his midfield.

Yet with Liverpool's Champions League aspirations very much in the balance, all three began at the Parc des Princes in the same place they've spent much of this campaign.

after the fellow Alisson shirt On the bench.

Keita, given his recent injury problems, was understandable. Fabinho, a regular opponent for Paris Saint-Germain, was a bit more flummoxing while Shaqiri had good reason to grumble after another good showing at the weekend.

Klopp instead chose to stick with the tried and trusted in the engine room, even reverting to a 4-3-3 formation that served so well last season.

It didn't work, PSG's ability to storm straight through the Reds midfield contributing to their first-half goals that gave Liverpool too steep a mountain to climb, Marco Verratti - a notable absentee at Anfield in September - running amok, James Milner the only visitor offering any sort of resistance.

Jordan Henderson was again worryingly below par while Gini Wijnaldum, so impressive for much of this season, had a stinker.

In mitigation, neither Keita nor Shaqiri improved matters much on their late introductions.

But finding the right blend in midfield is an issue that's in danger of costing Liverpool their Champions League berth. An answer must be found in a fortnight - there is no longer any margin for error.

3 It's certainly a bad deal for the defence in this European campaign Liverpool's Champions League travails this season can be neatly encapsulated in one alarming statistic.

Since arriving at Anfield in the summer, Alisson Becker has now shipped more goals in the competition than he has in the Premier League.

Conceding in Europe hasn't been restricted to this campaign - the Reds shed nine in their last three games last season - but the leakiness of this term is in stark contrast to how they have performed domestically.

While the Reds are enjoying a club record start to the Premier League while having never been as stingy, they are setting the wrong kind of landmarks in Europe, this the first time they have lost all three away games in a group stage having now been defeated in five of their last seven in the Champions League.

Keeping out Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani isn't easy for any side.

But the two goals conceded here were avoidable, particularly the first.

And there's more to it than merely the personnel in the backline, although it's curious that Virgil van Dijk, such a dominant force both home and away in the Premier League, appears anything but this season once he steps on to the Continent.

4 Not good enough - from Reds attackers or the ref Of course, if the defence and midfield aren't performing, it only increases the pressure on the attack.

And while Liverpool could rely on Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane to do the business last season in Europe, it hasn't been happening this time.

It's not all their fault - the question of midfield creativity rears its head again - but in three away group games they managed just four shots on target - and one of those was James Milner's penalty.

Not good enough at all.

Also less than stellar in the Parc des Princes was the performance of referee Szymon Marciniak, who failed to deal with Paris Saint-Germain's excesses - usually Neymar - and allowed Marco Verratti to escape with a red-card offence and later a succession of potential second yellows.

The referee even needed the help of his fellow officials before awarding Liverpool's clear-cut penalty.

Klopp fumed afterwards. Liverpool didn't need help losing this game.

But better officiating could have given them a much-needed lifeline.

CAPTION(S):

Neymar after the game with fellow Brazilian Alisson Becker's shirt

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Title Annotation:	Sport
Publication:	Liverpool Echo (Liverpool, England)
Geographic Code:	4EUFR
Date:	Nov 29, 2018
Words:	1072
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