On the eve of another European night under the lights at the Parc des Princes, Vitinha cut through the noise with a simple reminder.
“Liverpool are Liverpool, even if they are not in ideal form. They are still a great team,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
Paris Saint-Germain know that better than most. Twelve months ago these same clubs tore into each other over two legs in the Champions League last 16. Liverpool stole a 1-0 win in Paris, PSG hit back by the same score at Anfield, and Luis Enrique’s side held their nerve in the shoot-out to go through.
PSG rode that surge all the way to their first European crown. Liverpool consoled themselves by taking the Premier League title. Both giants ended the season with a trophy that defined them.
This time the mood music is different.
Liverpool arrive in the French capital bruised by a 4-0 beating from Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals. Arne Slot’s team have won only one of their last five in all competitions and sit fifth in the Premier League, with their place in next season’s Champions League in real jeopardy.
And yet, as Vitinha made clear, the badge still carries weight.
“It will be a great match here, and at Anfield, and tomorrow we will need to be at 100 percent. It will still be a very, very difficult game,” he said, refusing to read too much into Liverpool’s recent slide.
Memories of a “frustrating” classic
Ask anyone inside PSG’s camp about last year’s tie and the word “incredible” surfaces quickly.
“It was an incredible tie,” Vitinha said, before dwelling on that first leg in Paris, when Liverpool snatched victory late on.
“There was a bit of frustration in the first match. I don't remember Liverpool having a chance apart from the goal they scored at the end. We played well and yet we still lost. I remember saying that by playing like that we could go to Liverpool and win.
“Fortunately we did that, but that was last year. This is a different year, there have been changes in the two teams. Lots of things happen in football in a year, and it will be a different game for sure.”
Different, but no less charged. The stakes remain huge, the margins likely just as thin.
Ekitike returns to Paris with a point to prove
One of the clearest changes is wearing red, not blue.
Hugo Ekitike, once a frustrated figure in Paris, comes back to the Parc as Liverpool’s leading scorer this season, with 17 goals to his name. The France striker never truly settled during his 18-month spell at PSG between 2022 and 2024, but his form on Merseyside has turned him into a genuine contender for a World Cup place.
For Vitinha, it is a reunion with a familiar face and a very real threat.
“Hugo is a fantastic guy. I enjoyed the year I spent with him. You could see the quality he had even if it wasn't the right context for him. I wish him all the best except for these two matches,” he said, offering a smile with the warning.
Ekitike’s movement and confidence give Liverpool a different edge from last season’s version. His return to a stadium that never truly embraced him adds another layer to a tie already thick with storylines.
PSG count the cost of injuries
If Liverpool arrive with questions over form, PSG walk into the first leg counting absences.
Luis Enrique confirmed that Spain midfielder Fabian Ruiz will not feature. The playmaker has been sidelined with a knee injury since January and remains short of the level required for a Champions League knockout tie.
“Fabian has not yet trained with the squad, so how can he play?” the coach said. “He has improved a lot and we are very happy. That shows he is on the right road but he still has some way to go.”
Bradley Barcola, one of the breakout performers of PSG’s 8-2 aggregate demolition of Chelsea in the previous round, is also expected to miss out despite returning to training.
“We are trying to find the best conditions for the player and he needs to tell us when he is ready,” Luis Enrique explained, hinting that the winger will not be rushed back.
Without Ruiz’s control and Barcola’s direct running, PSG must lean on their depth and their manager’s tactical dexterity. The structure that carried them to the title last season faces a fresh examination.
No room for favourites
On paper, PSG look like the more settled side. European champions, at home in the first leg, facing a Liverpool team searching for rhythm and certainty.
Luis Enrique wants no part of that narrative.
“It is impossible to say one team is the favourite,” he insisted. “Last year everyone said Liverpool were the favourites, and the team that went through was Paris Saint-Germain.”
He has lived enough of these nights to know how quickly a tie can twist. One moment of brilliance. One mistake. One roar from the Kop in a week’s time.
For now, though, it starts in Paris, with a wounded Liverpool and a PSG side defending their crown. The names are familiar, the stage the same, but the story has shifted.
The question is simple: who writes the next chapter?
