The reporter reported coldly In a way, the Champions League 1/8 final between Liverpool and Grand Paris is a duel between two top goalkeepers. In the first leg at the Parc des Princes, Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson made a career-record nine saves in a single game to help Liverpool win 1-0; In the second leg at Anfield, it was Italian goalkeeper Donnarumma who successfully saved twice in the penalty shootout, which not only ended Liverpool's record of "four consecutive wins" in European competition and recent penalty shootouts, but also sent Paris to the last 8 of the Champions League.

With a 1-0 lead, Liverpool, who returned to their home stadium, had the upper hand at the start. However, after Salah missed two chances in the opening period, the home side were punished in the 12th minute when Ibraham Konate made a mistake with Alisson and slipped in front of goal to clear the ball and mistakenly touch the ball out of the latter's control, before Dembele fired into the empty net to equalise. After the goal, Paris attacked more fiercely, and Alisson made seven more saves in this game, saving a single goal from Barcola and Dembele in the first half alone.

The Liverpudlians can complain about the 45th minuteon the line of the penalty areaSzoboszlai was brought down from behind by Fabian and both the referee and VAR let go of the controversial foul. But Liverpool's luck ran out when Szobosley's goal was ruled out for Dias offside in the 53rd minute and Trent Alexander-Arnold went off injured. The final stages of the game were a showpiece for Parisian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma: he saved shots from Dias and Salah, and saved from Nunez and Curt Jones in the shoot-out. The duel between two top goalkeepers ended with Donnarumma, who was better at making saves.

Penalty shoot-outs have been considered an advantage for Liverpool in the past, having won four in a row in all competitions, with the last penalty shoot-out defeat coming to Arsenal in the Community Shield in August 2020. Since the start of the European season in 1964/65, Liverpool have won their previous four penalty shoot-outs. In the 1983/84 Champions League final, Roma beat Roma 4-2 on penalties, in the 2004/05 Champions League final, Milan beat Milan 3-2 on penalties, and in the 2006/07 Champions League semi-final second leg and the 2019/20 UEFA Super Cup, Chelsea were eliminated on penalties.

Liverpool have won two Italian teams in a row in these four penalty shoot-outs, and at least two of the opponents have missed penalties in three penalty shoot-outs in the Champions League. After 18 years, Liverpool experienced a penalty shootout in the Champions League for the fourth time, but the result was reversed. Not only did they lose to an Italian side for the first time, but it was also Liverpool's turn to miss penalties for the first time, with Nunez and Curt Jones leading the team out.

Liverpool have paid the price for the likes of Mohamed Salah on a number of missed chances to score, and can also complain about Szoboszlai's controversial foul that was not awarded. But even the British media had to admit that it was the night of Italian goalkeeper Donnarumma. Following the Euro 2021 final, Donnarumma saved at least two penalties in his second penalty shoot-out. He won six of his previous seven career penalty shoot-outs, three at Milan and two each at Grand Paris and Euro 2021, saving seven penalties and three of them twice in a single game. In the Europa League qualifying match against the Portuguese Super League in October 2020, Donnarumma even took a penalty and unfortunately missed, but still saved the penalty to help Milan advance. Donnarumma's only defeat in seven penalty shoot-outs was the 2022 French Cup, and although he still saved a penalty, he failed to help Paris advance.

Donnarumma, who won the award of the match without any suspense, saved 15 penalty kicks in a total of 57 regular time in his career, with a success rate of 26.3%. By comparison, Alisson saved eight of his 32 penalties in regulation time, slightly less than Donnarumma. It is precisely because of Donnarumma's outstanding performance that Grand Paris has won 4 of the last 5 penalty shootouts, becoming the first team in the history of the Champions League to eliminate Liverpool in penalty shootouts. Following the away win over Manchester United in December 2020, Grand Paris not only beat Premier League sides away again, but also ended a 10-game losing streak against Premier League side side in Ligue 1.

This is the second time that Paris have reached the last eight of the Champions League in a row after the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons. For the first time, Liverpool have been eliminated from the first leg of an important European knockout competition, having progressed from 30 previous first leg away wins. Since the 1976/77 season, Liverpool have been eliminated in seven European knockout stages against French sides three times, with Paris accounting for two. Paris last knocked out Liverpool in the semi-finals of the 1996/97 European Cup Winner's Cup, with the French giants eventually winning their only European title to date.

In addition, in the other three games held in the early 1/8 finals of the Champions League, Bayern, Barcelona and Inter Milan, who were superior in strength and led the first leg, all successfully advanced to the top 8. Grand Paris will face the winner of Club Brugge and Aston Villa in the quarter-finals, and could face the winner of either Arsenal or Madrid in the semi-finals. The latest odds to win the title have also risen to joint top spot with divisionally favoured Barcelona (4.33), followed by Real Madrid (5.00) and Bayern Munich (6.50).