LONDON: Paris St Germain`s penalty shoot-out triumph over Liverpool on Tuesday in an epic Champions League tie is a statement win for the French club`s new project in the post-Kylian Mbappe era and confirms that they are serious contenders to win the trophy.

PSG were formerly almost a laughing stock around Europe for their ability to lose big Champions League knockout ties in improbable circumstances.

Yet this heavyweight last-16 showdown against the English Premier League leaders could not have contrasted more sharply with past implosions against the likes of Barcelona, Manchester United and Real Madrid.

The Parisians finally banked on team cohesion rather than relying on individual brilliance to fulfil their European ambition and it paid off as they knocked out the odds-on favourites to join Barca, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan in the quarter-finals.

PSG were beaten 1-0 at the Parc des Princes after dominating the first leg throughout, leaving them up against it before going to Anfield, where Liverpool had been beaten just once this season.

But Luis Enrique`s PSG went ahead early on the night through Ousmane Dembele, the forward`s 29th goal this season in all competitions levelling the tie on aggregate.

That was the only goal of the 90 minutes, as PSG withstood pressure, helped by some key interventions from goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, but also maintained a threat at the other end with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia outstanding and Desire Doue excellent off the bench.

They were also the better team in a goalless extra time, and held their nerve superbly in the shoot-out, scoring all four of their kicks while Donnarumma saved from Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones.`Over the two legs we deserved to go through. Football does not always acknowledge merit, but tonight Pm happy we qualified because we deserved it,` PSG captain Marquinhos said.

Over the last decade, Qatarbacked PSG made a habit of accumulating superstar forwards but maintaining a fragility that left them susceptible to collapsing in big European matches.

Since 2012 with the exception of the 2016-17 season PSG have relied on marquee players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Neymar, Lionel Messi and Mbappe.

With Mbappe moving to Real Madrid in the close season and following a frustrating league phase in the Champions League, few would have bet that PSG would emerge as top contenders after the winter break.

However, Liverpool coach Arne Slot had warned that Luis Enrique`s side were the best on the continent and that appeared to be the case, even if the Reds` defeat at Anfield was as undeserved as their victory in Paris.

`We have a team with young players, we want to build on them,` president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said. `I would have said the same thing if we had not gone through the leaguephase, and if we had been eliminated tonight. We`ve got the best coach in the world, with technically gifted players.

They will face Aston Villa or Club Brugge for a place in the semi-finals, a stage they reached last season.

Barca, meanwhile, beat Benfica 3-1 in Spain and 4-1 on aggregate as 17-year-old Lamine Yamal became the youngest player to score and assist in one Champions League match, while Raphinha got a brace.

The Catalan club will play either Borussia Dortmund or Lille in the quarter-finals.

Harry Kane scored and set up Alphonso Davies as six-time winners Bayern won 2-0 at Bayer Leverkusen to take the all-German tie 5-0 from both games.

Bayern, who have made it to the last eight a record 23 times in the Champions League era, next meet Inter who completed a 4-1 aggregate success over Dutch side Feyenoord with a 2-1 home victory from Marcus Thuram and Hakan Calhanoglu`s penalty at San Siro.

SHOOTOUT HERO DONARUMMA With a young team featuring the likes of Doue and Bradley Barcola and an impeccablemindset, PSG have ingested Luis Enrique`s methods and despite their lack of experience, can aim high in Europe with the Ligue 1 title almost won already.

Luis Enrique`s possession game and intense pressing is more lethal than PSG have been used to in the past and they did exactly that when Dembele scored the only goal with a soft touch at the end of a counter attack in the 12th minute after a mix-up between Ibrahima Konate and Alisson.

Maligned for his weak attempted save at the Parc des Princes from Harvey Elliott`s strike, Italian goalkeeper Donnarumma produced two excellent saves in the shoot-out.

Donnarumma plunged first to his left to deny Nunez, before going low the other side to deny Jones, with his team-mates dispatching all of their penalties.

`Knocking Liverpool out is very tough,` said Luis Enrique..`It would not have been possible without the team`s mindset and courage, and without Gigio. We just showed what kind of team we are, who play their own football, whatever ground they play on, even if it wasn`t easy at times here. We lived up to what the match demanded.

The Ligue 1 leaders seeking their first Champions League title had lost at this stage in five of the past eight editions. `It was the best game of football I have ever been involvedin,`Liverpoolmanager Arne Slot said. `It was an incredible performance, especially if you compare it with last week. We were creating chances and then we were 1-0 down. We ran out of luck after last week.

BARCA POWER THROUGH In Barcelona, Raphinha volleyed the opener into the far right corner off Yamal`s failed attempt to put the hosts on top early on.

Benfica were level two minutes later from NicolasOtamendi`s header but teenage sensation Yamal restored the lead, cutting in from the right flank and arching an unstoppable effort into the far corner, and Raphinha wrapped up matters on another classy Barca attack in the 43rd.

Raphinha`s double made him the leading scorer in the Champions League this season with 11 goals. `We are candidates to win everything, Raphinha told Movistar, with the club in the hunt for a potential treble.

KANE LE ADS BAYERN Leverkusen never looked likely to overturn the three-goal deficit from the first leg, even before Kane bundled in the ball at afree kick in the 52nd after Leverkusen`s Patrik Schick misjudged an attempted clearance.

Kane set up Davies for Bayern`s second goal with a flicked cross in the 71st as the all-German rivalry became a one-sided contest.

`From the first minute we didn`t want to be a team that dropped off and tried to defend the lead,` Kane told Amazon Prime. `In the second half we knew they had to come out and try something and we punished them.

INTER COMFORTABLY ADVANCE A goal at the start of each half saw Inter easily advance, with Marcus Thuram scoring a stunning eighth-minute opener. The Inter forward received the ball midway inside the Feyenoord half and then weaved his way into the area before unleashing a powerful effort into the top right corner.

Jakub Moder leveled from the penalty spot shortly before halftime after being tripped by Hakan Çalhanoglu.

Calhanoglu made amends when he put Inter on top again in the 51st, also from the spot awardedafterThomasBeelenbrought down Mehdi Taremi.-Agencies