"Can’t believe how lucky Liverpool have been there" - Rio Ferdinand surprised by referee's decision to not send Reds star off in clash against PSG

Rio Ferdinand was left shocked by the referee's decision to not send off Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate during their clash against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). The two sides met in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday, March 5, as the Reds secured a 1-0 win.

The moment of controversy came in the 26th minute when Konate pushed Bradley Barcola in the back, while the French forward was running into the box. The Parisians were furious, as they believed Konate had fouled Barcola and stopped a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

However, the PSG protests were dismissed by referee Davide Massa straight away, and after a long VAR check, his decision stood. Working as a pundit for TNT Sports, Rio Ferdinand was stupefied by the decision.

The former Manchester United centre-back said (via Metro):

"That’s a foul. The push is in the back. If that’s not a red card, I’ll be amazed. It will be a shame if they go down to ten men because you want the best players on the pitch for 90 minutes, but it’s a foul."

However, Liverpool were not penalized, and Ferdinand added:

"Liverpool have to wake up now because they’ve had two scares. They’ve been bamboozled. They’ve got to wake up. They’re lucky not to be two goals behind with ten men. I can’t believe how lucky Liverpool have been there."

"If Barcola and Konate were shoulder to shoulder then I get it. But Konate barges him basically on the numbers on his back, between his shoulder blades. How has VAR not picked that up?"

PSG dominated the fixture, but Liverpool stole the win through Harvey Elliott's strike in the 87th minute.

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"They take a lot of risk when they press" - Liverpool head coach Arne Slot on PSG's pressing quality

Ahead of the game, Arne Slot talked about the challenges that PSG's high-intensity pressing game will present for his team. The Dutchman said (via the club's website):

"It’s not easy to dominate ball possession against Paris Saint-Germain because they take a lot of risk when they press, so they go man-v-man all over the pitch and that makes it hard for many teams to have a lot of ball possession against them..."

"Hopefully we can hold the ball very well and we can play the similar style we have played in all the other games except for the City one, and that is us dominating ball possession."

The English giants will need to find ways to cope with the challenge posed by the Parisians' pressing game and maintain their attacking rhythm, especially in the second leg at Anfield. Although the Reds will consider themselves lucky to have escaped the Parc des Princes with a 1-0 win, they will be the favorites in the second leg at home.