Wayne Rooney has labelled Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk as "lazy" after the Reds conceded to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

After winning the first leg of their Champions League tie 1-0 in Paris last week, the Reds found themselves trailing at Anfield in the return leg after 12 minutes after Ousmane Dembele scored from close range.

It was Dembele who started the move, firing the ball out wide to Bradley Barcola before sprinting into the box to collect the return pass. Despite being under pressure from Dominik Szoboszlai and Ibrahima Konate, with Alisson rushing out, Dembele somehow managed to bundle the ball home, giving PSG the lead.

And former Manchester United striker Rooney was left bereft at Van Dijk's 'laziness', blaming the Liverpool skipper for not sensing the danger prior to Dembele's goal.

Speaking on Amazon Prime at half-time, Rooney said: "This goal from Liverpool's point of view is wrong in so many ways. Van Dijk gets lazy. He is walking and leaves a massive gap to Dembele.

"All he needs to do is come across and cover. Dembele has a lot of space and gets the ball out wide. Konate doesn't switch on and then Dembele gets the tap in."

Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge also gave his take on the PSG goal, adding he believes the Reds defense needed to communicate better.

Sturridge, who praised Dembele for "staying engaged", said: "It is communication in moments like this. Virgil, Konate, Szoboszlai. Fair play to Dembele for staying engaged and following the chance. He finds himself in a position to score but Liverpool will be very upset."

Ousmane Dembele celebrates scoring PSG's opening goal against Liverpool. (Image: Ryan Crockett/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

Following PSG's opener, neither side were able to find the back of the net in 90 minutes again, which meant the game went to extra-time.

However, Arne Slot will be left worried by the fact full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold had to come off in the second half after landing awkwardly on the sideline, with Jarell Quansah coming on in his place.

And it is now also unclear whether or not Alexander-Arnold will be fit to face Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final this weekend too.

Liverpool.com says: "The goal Liverpool conceded against PSG was not the finest moment for the Reds defense, with Ousmane Dembele capitalizing on some sloppy defending. Liverpool were given plenty of warning about just how dangerous PSG's attack could be in the first leg of the tie."

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Liverpool has been handed a new injury worry after Trent Alexander-Arnold was forced off against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

The Reds vice-captain had to receive treatment after he seemingly twisted his ankle while sliding into a challenge during the second half against the French champion. Alexander-Arnold was tended to by physios before being replaced by Jarell Quansah.

The right-back had earlier come close to bringing Liverpool level on the night following Ousmane Dembele's first-half opener, having struck the post with a superb effort in the second half. The subsequent follow-up, which saw Alexander-Arnold square the ball for Dominik Szoboszlai to tap home, was disallowed after Luis Diaz was caught offside earlier in the build-up.

Alexander-Arnold's injury will come as a big blow to Liverpool, with the Reds already short of options at right-back. Conor Bradley is currently out injured, while Joe Gomez looks likely to miss most of the rest of the season.

It means that, should Alexander-Arnold be ruled out of Sunday's Carabao Cup final against Newcastle, Quansah looks the most likely option to start on the right at Wembley. That in itself though could be a big risk for Arne Slot, as it would leave Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate as his only senior options at center-back.

Alexander-Arnold's injury comes just days after Slot hit back at suggestions that his side has been lucky with player absences this season - a claim that has grown as the Reds edge closer to the Premier League title at Arsenal's expense.

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"If you think injuries are part of good luck, and bad luck, then we've been lucky," said Slot. "But we try to believe in the fact that we tried to prevent them from a certain way of working, because we don't have many injuries, I don't see that as luck.

"First of all, our players do everything they could to stay fit and, second of all, great facilities and great staff. You need to show that over a longer period of time to consider it luck or bad luck. If we can continue doing this for a few years then it's probably also quality.

"Although, you can't go through a season in the Premier League - and the Champions League and all these cups - without injuries.

"Diogo Jota has been out for three or four months, without a start, Alisson has been out for a few weeks, maybe even months, Trent [Alexander-Arnold], Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez has been out for three months so we have had our injuries but, yeah you cannot go through a season without an injury it's more the amount of injuries that you try to prevent.

"It could be luck, but I hope that we be doing things the right way, that could not only be luck but doing things in the right way."

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Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has dismissed Liverpool’s claims for a penalty against Paris Saint-Germain, despite Dominik Szoboszlai feeling he should have been awarded a spot-kick.

The Reds midfielder was left remonstrating with referee Istvan Kovacs late on in the first half after a challenge from Fabian Ruiz. Szoboszlai went down just inside the penalty area as he looked to shield the ball from the PSG midfielder, with Ruiz’s attempt to get to the ball seeing him kick his counterpart in the back of the leg.

Despite Liverpool players’ protests, the referee decided against awarding the hosts a penalty, with VAR choosing not to intervene. Szoboszlai was seen speaking to Kovacs in the lead-up to half-time as he continued to question the decision.

It came after PSG had leveled the tie through Ousmane Dembele, who pounced on Ibrahima Konate’s attempt to cut out Bradley Barcola’s cross to tap the ball home. The goal left the tie last-16 encounter level at 1-1, with Liverpool having claimed a 1-0 win in Paris last week thanks to Harvey Elliott’s late winner.

The Reds had chances to extend their lead before Dembele’s goal, with Mohamed Salah going close on two occasions inside the opening 10 minutes at Anfield. Arne Slot’s men may also feel hard done by that they didn’t get the chance to retake the lead in the tie from the penalty spot, although Clattenburg didn’t feel they had much of a case.

Giving his verdict on Ruiz’s challenge on Szoboszlai, Clattenburg told Amazon Prime Video: “He does get a kick on the thigh but he waits one or two seconds, thinks about it and then goes down. That is what the referee and VAR have seen.”

Liverpool.com says: We might be biased, but Ruiz certainly doesn’t get any of the ball, and all he succeeds in doing is kicking Szoboszlai in the back of the legs. It wasn’t a lot of contact, but the PSG midfielder can’t have had too many complaints had that been given as a foul.

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Darwin Nunez might have produced one of his more positive performances of the season against Southampton at the weekend, but it would be a surprise to see him in the Liverpool starting line-up against Paris Saint-Germain today.

The Uruguayan forward looked to be losing his head in the first half, kicking out at Kyle Walker-Peters after Liverpool had fallen behind, but improved after the break, scoring the Reds' equalizer before winning a penalty.

Still, one suspects Nunez only started against Southampton in the first place because Arne Slot was keen to preserve the injury-prone Diogo Jota ahead of the second leg against PSG.

Cody Gakpo's recent injury struggles render him unlikely to start but he is set to be on the bench after returning to training earlier this week. That means Liverpool's front three effectively picks itself, with Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz expected to flank Jota. Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai only played a half each against Southampton so should be fresh to take their places in the line-up, while Ryan Gravenberch is the obvious pick at the base of midfield.

Curtis Jones was hooked at half-time on Saturday and it would be a surprise to see him start, while Harvey Elliott, despite the positive impact he made against both PSG and Saints, will probably have to settle for a place on the bench again. Alisson is obviously going to start between the sticks, and the back four also feels fairly obvious: Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson as the full-backs, with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate through the middle.

Darwin Nunez will likely have to settle for the bench (Image: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)

In short, Slot is expected to name the same team that lined up in the Parc des Princes six days ago, and he will of course be hoping for an improved performance on the one we saw in the first leg, otherwise Liverpool will be in for a very tricky night.

Predicted Liverpool starting line-up versus Paris Saint-Germain: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Salah, Diaz, Jota

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Liverpool's status as Premier League champion is all but confirmed, but the Reds still have plenty of work to do to secure European glory as well.

Paris Saint-Germain produced an impressive performance in last week's Champions League last-16 first leg at the Parc des Princes, and had its players not found Alisson in inspired form between the sticks for the Reds, the French outfit would probably have been taking a lead to Anfield.

In years gone by, PSG has crumbled in tough situations and environments in the Champions League, and Anfield is not a place for the faint-hearted, but Luis Enrique's side has a different feel to it than the PSG teams of old, so the second leg could be fascinating. Here are the details you need in order to be able to watch it...

What time is kick-off?

The match will take place on Tuesday, March 11, and kicks off at 8 pm in the UK, which is 12 pm Pacific Time and 5 pm Eastern Time.

Is the match on TV?

In the UK, the match will be shown live on Prime Video, with coverage starting at 6:30 pm GMT; in the US, Liverpool vs PSG will be available to watch on Paramount+.

Want to watch more live sports? Peacock has your favorite sports, shows, and more all in one place. Peacock offers plans starting at $7.99 so you can stream live sports like NFL, Premier League, and Big Ten Football.

Where can I catch the highlights?

Highlights will be shared on TNT Sports' social media channels in the UK, and viewers around the world should easily be able to find legitimate highlights from the game with a simple YouTube search.

For UK viewers, there will be a Champions League highlights episode streaming on BBC One, on Wednesday, March 12, from 10:40pm.

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Liverpool is set for one of the biggest nights of the season as it takes on Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last-16 second leg. Leading 1-0 from the first leg, the Reds know they will have to emerge with at least a draw at Anfield, but that’s far from an easy task against a side Arne Slot claims is one of the best in Europe.

On a busy Monday afternoon, the Dutchman addressed the media in his pre-match press conference and warned PSG it will face a very different Liverpool at Anfield. He also rejected any talk of additional motivation following PSG’s comments in the last week and gave a positive injury update on Cody Gakpo.

Diogo Jota also spoke and revealed his frustrations at the season so far, just minutes after PSG’s contingent left the press room. Luis Enrique boldly predicted that the winner of Tuesday’s tie will make it to the final, while Khvicha Kvaratskhelia claimed PSG’s chances of progressing are 50/50.

Meanwhile, in transfer news, Liverpool continue to be linked with Alexander Isak, while Fabrizio Romano has claimed the Reds have identified three possible left-backs ahead of the summer window: Milos Kerkez, Rayan Ait Nouri and Antonee Robinson.

Keep up to date with all the latest Liverpool news, transfer updates and PSG build-up via our live blog.

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