Liverpool have fallen to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain this evening to leave their hopes of reaching the last 16 of the Champions League hanging by a thread.
PSG took an early lead through the unlikely source of Juan Bernat and were good value for their second, too, as Neymar finished off a devastating counter-attack.
James Milner handed Liverpool a lifeline from the penalty spot just before half time, but the Reds could not find an equaliser in the second half as they are left needing to beat Napoli either 1-0 or by two clear goals at Anfield on matchday six in order to progress.
PSG, meanwhile, only need a point in their final game against Red Star Belgrade to reach the knockout rounds, having known that defeat tonight could have seen their Champions League hopes ended in the group stages.
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The hosts were able to welcome Neymar and Kylian Mbappe back into their starting lineup after recent injuries, and the world's most expensive duo contributed to a quick start from Thomas Tuchel's men.
PSG almost broke in behind the defence on a couple of occasions in the opening minutes before Mbappe did get the first shot away early on, dragging a deflected effort wide of Alisson Becker's goal.
The Liverpool goalkeeper was called into action shortly afterwards when a long spell of PSG possession ended with Angel di Maria firing a dipping volley towards the far corner, forcing Alisson to parry it away.
The home side's front four were looking dangerous every time they clicked into gear, though, and Mbappe drew another save from Alisson before they did take the lead after only 13 minutes.
Marco Verratti was given too much space to find Mbappe, and the Frenchman's low pass into the box was only half-cleared by Virgil van Dijk. Bernat reacted quicker than the Liverpool defence inside the box and cut onto his right foot before dragging a deflected finish into the bottom corner at the near post.
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Liverpool did begin to grow into the game as the first half progressed, but they failed to offer much genuine threat to Gianluigi Buffon's goal before their late penalty and their best chance from open play saw Mohamed Salah clip a tame shot wide of the target.
The home side were fortunate to escape a red card shortly afterwards when Verratti launched himself into a late and high challenge on Gomez, with referee Szymon Marciniak only producing a yellow for the dangerous tackle.
PSG posed a continuous threat going forward and they offered a warning sign of what was to come shortly after the hour mark when Neymar played in Mbappe, whose teasing low ball into the box was bravely pushed away from Alisson with Edinson Cavani almost getting on the end of it.
It was almost a carbon copy when PSG doubled their advantage six minutes later as Neymar and Mbappe exchanged passes on the break before the latter again looked for Cavani in the middle, and this time the Uruguayan striker got on the end of it.
Alisson did well to save the initial effort, but the rebound fell kindly for Neymar to tuck into the bottom corner - a goal which saw him become the highest-scoring Brazilian in Champions League history.
Liverpool were suddenly left with a mountain to climb, and they hadn't shown many signs of being able to do it until Di Maria handed them a lifeline with a rash challenge on Sadio Mane inside the area, gifting away a needless penalty.
The referee initially pointed for a corner, but he was corrected by his assistants and Milner stepped up to send Buffon the wrong way and give Liverpool a glimmer of unexpected hope on the stroke of half time.
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PSG almost snuffed out that hope within minutes of the restart when Marquinhos saw a goal disallowed for offside, but Liverpool looked significantly more settled in the second half than they did in the first.
The Reds created a rare chance from open play on the hour mark when Andrew Robertson's cross was headed wide by Roberto Firmino, and Tuchel was sufficiently unhappy with his side's drop in quality that he made a couple of changes shortly afterwards.
It took a fine reaction stop from Alisson to keep Liverpool in the game with 20 minutes remaining as he clawed a powerful downward header from Marquinhos away, and Liverpool were still pushing for an equaliser in the dying embers.
However, some spirited defending - mixed with a certain degree of gamesmanship - from Thiago Silva and co saw PSG keep the Reds at bay to pick up all three points, leaving them second in the group and two points clear of Liverpool with one game remaining.
Jurgen Klopp's side, who have lost all three of their Champions League away group games for the first time in their history, could still finish above Napoli by virtue of the head-to-head record if they beat the Italian outfit 1-0 or by two goals or more at Anfield, but anything less would see them eliminated from the competition.
PSG (4-2-3-1): Buffon; Kehrer, Silva, Kimpembe, Bernat; Verratti, Marquinhos; Mbappe (Rabiot 85'), Neymar, Di Maria (Alves 65'); Cavani (Choupo-Moting 65')
LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Alisson; Gomez, Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson; Milner (Shaqiri 77'), Henderson, Wijnaldum (Keita 66'); Salah, Firmino (Sturridge 71'), Mane
Barney Corkhill
