Liverpool news: What Reds should watch out for in Paris

The all-conquering form of a rejuvenated Paris St-Germain would have seemed unlikely at the start of the season.

Portugal international Goncalo Ramos was sidelined for three months with an ankle injury, while Randal Kolo Muani was progressively phased out of the team, eventually culminating in his loan move to Juventus this winter.

Initially, it was Bradley Barcola, from the left wing, who took up the mantle by scoring 10 times in the first 11 league games of the campaign.

Having carried over his goalscoring form to international duty amid Kylian Mbappe’s absence from Les Bleus, the 22-year-old was looking increasingly at ease in carrying the now-Real Madrid man’s responsibilities for club and country.

His form only faintly translated to Champions League fixtures, though, as was the case for the rest of the team. Successive false-nine experiments, notably involving Kang-in Lee and Ousmane Dembele, were proving mostly ineffective as the team registered just one win in the first five European matchdays.

The team’s league stage campaign, branded by manager Luis Enrique as “unjust” given the tough draw they faced, was stunted by an inability to capitalise on their dominance in possession in most games.

A disastrous early exit in January was an increasingly credible prospect, until the pieces of the Spaniard’s plan finally began to fall into place.

PSG’s free-scoring run since January has included 18 goals in four European encounters, a figure admittedly inflated by Brest’s unfortunate collapse in their play-off tie.

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