Impossible is not Parisian. In the Champions League, PSG has the art of seducing and, sometimes, losing spectacularly. With a two-goal lead – counting the victory in the first leg and Kylian Mbappé’s opener in the second leg – the Parisians still found a way to lose and be eliminated by Real Madrid. Candidate (as always) for the final victory, Paris will not even see the quarter-finals.
At the Santiago Bernabeu, in seventeen minutes, PSG scuttled themselves by taking three warning shots from the French center forward of Real, Karim Benzema (61e76e and 78e). The initial and glaring error is to the credit of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. The Italian, preferred to Keylor Navas, was too late to clear on foot and Benzema first appeared to equalize.
The Parisians protested, arguing that the Madrilenian had irregular contact with the Parisian. The arbitrator ruled otherwise. The Argentine coach of PSG, Mauricio Pochettino, did not hesitate to make his ready-made excuse: “For me, there is fault on Donnarumma, it is a shame. After this action, the game changed. It’s hard to accept. I do not believe it. »
Pochettino, Leonardo and Mbappé, uncertain futures
Then the tension induced by this equalizing goal turned into intense pressure. And in panic, when the French took advantage of a superb pass from Luka Modric to add a second Madrid goal. At this point in the game, the two teams were evenly matched. But two minutes later, the sinking was recorded. The Parisian captain, Marquinhos, flinched in turn and, on a poor clearance, he allowed Benzema to score the winning goal.
At 3-1, the Parisians, mentally affected, were eliminated. The light could come from Mbappé but it did not. Unable to react despite the offensive entries of Julian Draxler and Angel Di Maria in place of Danilo and Hakimi, PSG no longer created any chances. Lionel Messi and Neymar – who had started the meeting well – were non-existent.
Hero of this Madrid qualification, Karim Benzema recounted the exploit of his team: “In the second leg, we saw another Madrid, we pushed. We conceded a goal but we had such confidence in ourselves that we knew we were going to have chanceshe explained. We showed that we were a great club. We knew that this team was losing balls under pressure. When we press the two centrals, they lose balls and fail to connect with the three in front. Then after, we have success and we score. »
Already eliminated in the Coupe de France and despite a large domination in Ligue 1 with thirteen points ahead of its runner-up, Nice, Paris has already missed its season. The fate of coach Mauricio Pochettino seems sealed. That of sporting director Leonardo is uncertain, as is the future of the prodigy Mbappé, who is more than ever announced on the side of the executioner of the evening, Real Madrid. The aftermath of defeat is often difficult.
