Liverpool lost their first match in the Champions League

Netherlands With a 2-3 loss to PSV, coach Arne Slot and his team lost their perfect record in the Champions League group stage.

Having won all seven of their opening games and secured a direct ticket to the round of 16 in one of the top two positions, coach Slot started most of his second team. And as expected, Liverpool lost 2-3 in the first half. Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott put the English team ahead twice, but Johan Bakayoko, Ismael Saibari and Ricardo Pepi soon turned the tables for PSV.

Nine regular Liverpool starters, Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker, Ibrahima Konate, Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Luis Diaz, were absent from the final group game in the Netherlands on January 29. Slot also lost Darwin Nunez, who was ill before the game. Jayden Danns, at 19 years and 13 days, became Liverpool’s youngest ever starter in the Champions League.

Gakpo did not celebrate the opening goal of the PSV 3-2 Liverpool match on the evening of January 29. Photo: AFP

It’s not just the youngsters who will benefit from Slot’s decision. Federico Chiesa , a 27-year-old striker who joined in the summer of 2024, started for Liverpool for the first time since September. He lived up to his manager’s expectations by conceding a penalty in the 28th minute after being brought down by Joey Veerman in the box. Gakpo took the penalty that opened the scoring for Liverpool, but did not celebrate. The striker spent five seasons at PSV before moving to Liverpool more than two years ago.

Veerman quickly made up for his mistake that led to the first goal. In the 35th minute, the Dutch midfielder passed the ball to Pepi, who supported it with his chest, and Bakayoko shot with his right foot to equalize 1-1.

Liverpool took the lead again in the 40th minute. Elliott fired home after goalkeeper Walter Benitez had saved Chiesa’s shot.

However, against an opponent who had scored 96 goals in all competitions since the beginning of the season, Liverpool’s second team could not stop the storm. In the 45th minute, after losing the ball to Wataru Endo, Saibari shot into the near corner to level the score at 2-2. And in the 45+6th minute, Mauro Junior’s cross hit Conor Bradley and Pepi changed direction and went into the far corner to seal a 3-2 victory for PSV.

PSV successfully came from behind to beat Liverpool 3-2 on the evening of January 29. Photo: AFP

After the break, Liverpool almost lost again. If Tyler Morton had not made a save, Saibari could have made it 4-2 to PSV. 18-year-old Amara Nallo made his Liverpool debut, but was sent off after just three minutes for a foul on Bakayoko.

Despite losing their final match, Liverpool still maintained their top spot in the group stage with 21 points. Second-placed Barca could not take advantage of the opportunity to surpass them after being held to a 2-2 draw by Atalanta. Meanwhile, PSV ranked 14th with 14 points, winning a play-off spot for a ticket to the round of 16.

The group stage only takes the top eight teams straight to the round of 16. The teams ranked from ninth to 24th must compete in a play-off to compete for the remaining eight tickets.