Dembele double downs Reds

Paris Saint-Germain's grip on the Champions League trophy remains strong.

The defending champion advanced to the semifinals of European club soccer's biggest competition by dumping out six-time winner Liverpool on Tuesday.

A 2-0 win at Anfield sealed a 4-0 aggregate victory and moved PSG a step closer to becoming only the second club to retain the trophy in the modern era after all-time king of Europe Real Madrid.

"It's difficult to defend the Champions League, we know that," said coach Luis Enrique. "We are here again and we need to make the most of these opportunities."

Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele scored two second-half goals to kill off Liverpool's fight and book a semifinal clash with either Bayern Munich or Los Blancos.

Also Tuesday, Atletico Madrid advanced to the semifinals after a 3-2 aggregate win over La Liga rival Barcelona.

It takes something special to hold on to the Champions League, and PSG is a special team. Madrid won a hat-trick of titles between 2016-18, but no other team has managed back-to-back wins since the European Cup was rebranded in 1992.

PSG is out to make history after ending its long wait to conquer Europe for the first time last year. It is the second time in as many seasons that the French giant has knocked out Liverpool, which was in search of another famous Champions League comeback and dominated PSG for long periods.

"It is a real pleasure for me to know that my team is at that level, and can play at that level no matter who they are playing against," said Enrique, who is a two-time Champions League-winning coach, having triumphed with Barcelona as well.

"You can see what sort of team we are, what players I've got. We've got confidence and belief. It's wonderful to be living this experience with this team."

Enrique said Liverpool's need to chase the tie after trailing 2-0 from the first leg played into PSG's hands, even if it took time to fully capitalize on its position.

"They had to take a lot of risks, and that meant we could load the counterattack and kill the match off," he said.

"It took us longer to do that than I would have liked, but as soon as we scored the first goal, that changed things. I think we managed the match very well."

In the semifinals, PSG will face either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, which were set to meet on Wednesday with the Germans leading the tie 2-1.

Asked if he had a preference, Enrique said: "If I say one team, we'll end up playing the other team.

"I'll have a glass in my hand, I'll be watching the game between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, but it doesn't matter, we deserve to be there and we're going to make the most of it with our supporters."

Dembele's first goal ended Liverpool's hopes — a left-footed shot from the edge of the area in the 72nd minute. His second came at the end of a sweeping move in stoppage time.

Dembele had been guilty of wasting chances in the first leg to effectively put the tie to bed, and he failed to capitalize on two more first-half opportunities to put the French champion further ahead at Anfield.

But his opening goal was dispatched with precision — nestling the ball in the bottom corner. His second was a clinical finish from close range.

Liverpool had been dominated in Paris last week, but the Merseyside club knows all about comebacks in this competition.

It was 3-0 down to AC Milan in the 2005 final and powered back to win on penalties. More recently, it routed Barcelona 4-0 in the 2019 semifinals to overturn a 3-0 first-leg loss and go on to lift the trophy.

Anfield is famed for its white-hot atmosphere, especially on European nights, and the PSG team bus was greeted by red flares as it approached the ground. Inside the ground, however, the French fans more than held their own — singing loudly in the away section, as the home crowd seemed strangely subdued at times.

Liverpool had its chances, despite losing Hugo Ekitike to an early injury. Virgil van Dijk was denied a first-half tap-in when Marquinhos pulled off a last-ditch block.

In the second half, belief among the home fans began to grow as Liverpool applied the pressure.

And a comeback looked on when referee Maurizio Mariani pointed to the spot for a foul by Willian Pacho on Alexis Mac Allister shortly after the hour.

With the score at 0-0, this was the chance to test PSG's resolve, but celebrations soon turned to disappointment when the penalty was overturned after review.

"We are very disappointed because, I think, there were parts in the second half where you could just feel that if we can score now, this is going to become a special night," said Liverpool coach Arne Slot.

"But the future looks very bright for this team, for this club, because we've shown that we can compete with the champions of Europe in our stadium."